Light the Night With Stars
by Above the Winter Moonlight
Summary: Sakaki Yuya wants to entertain, to bring smiles to everyone. Sakaki Kazuki wants to succeed, to make his father proud. But when they are reluctantly dragged into a dimensional war, they find themselves in a fight for survival as a sinister darkness and shocking secrets lurk in the shadows.
1. Sway, Pendulum of the Soul

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V, nor will I ever and I am only saying this once and I will not repeat it in later chapters.**_

 _ **. . .**_

 _ **. . .**_

 **Light the Night With Stars**

 **. . .**

 **. . .**

 **Arc I**

 **. . .**

 **. . .**

 **Turn 1**

 **Sway, Pendulum of the Soul**

You Show Duel School was unusually quiet today. There were only two people there at the moment, seated in the lounge sorting through the various cards scattered on the table or on the floor. The first was Sakaki Yuya, eldest son of the legendary Entertainment Duelist Sakaki Yusho, who had crimson and green hair and was dressed in green pants and a red shirt with his school's uniform jacket hanging around his shoulders like a cape. Around his neck hung a prism-shaped light-blue pendulum crystal. His crimson eyes studied the cards in his hand.

"Where is everyone?" he said, lifting his head from his cards and fixing his gaze on the second boy in the room.

"Running late," the second boy said. Sakaki Kazuki, Yuya's younger twin brother, looked nothing like his twin. He had spiky white hair with chin-length light blue bangs framing either side of his face and was dressed in dark blue pants with a white short-sleeved shirt over which was a light-blue vest as well as his school's uniform jacket. Around his neck was a sapphire gem encased in a silver bale and attached to a silver chain. His light blue eyes didn't lift from the cards he was studying in his hands.

"Oh." Yuya turned his gaze to his cards again and pressed his lips together. "Hey, Kazuki, what did Mrs. Nakano want anyway?"

Kazuki grimaced at the reminder. Nakano, one of their teachers at Maiami Second, had asked Kazuki to stay behind again today for some reason, though Kazuki hadn't told Yuya what that reason was during their walk home.

"She just wanted to remind me to focus a bit more on my studies and less on dueling. I've been getting a bit behind in her class," Kazuki admitted and shuffled his cards together before placing them on the ground and leaning back against the wall.

Yuya raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You? Not study?" he teased.

"Haha. I do study. She just doesn't think I do since I have a bit of a hard time in her class," Kazuki said, rolling his eyes at Yuya. He was always the more studious of the two of them, and not just in his classes at Maiami Second. He was also studious in terms of dueling, which was why he was actually teaching himself how to perform one of the summoning methods that had only just been recently introduced to the curriculum at Leo Duel School. That was impressive and Yuya couldn't help but feel proud of his little brother.

He wasn't that way. He enjoyed dueling and he didn't mind learning new things about dueling, but his dueling was geared toward making others smile and happy and enjoy the duel. That was what his father wanted to happen with his dueling and Yuya wanted his father's duel style to live on through him.

"Speaking of dueling," Yuya said as he gathered his cards together and shuffled them, "what do you say to a practice duel while we wait for Gongenzaka, Yuzu, and others to show up?"

"Action Duel or regular duel?" Kazuki asked, grinning and getting to his feet as he said that. Yuya laughed because Kazuki should already know his answer to that.

They didn't get the chance to start their duel, though, because Gongenzaka, Yuzu, and Shuzo should up at that moment.

"You got here a lot sooner than I thought, given that I left before you did," Hiiragi Yuzu, one of Yuya's two closest friends, commented, a faint smile on her lips. She was a slim girl standing a few inches taller than Yuya, something that he would admit he was a bit irritated about, with pink hair and lighter pink bangs framing her face, her bright blue eyes lit with amusement as she added, "I would've thought Kazuki would've gotten distracted by something shiny and made you guys late."

Yuya laughed while Kazuki pouted, even though what Yuzu said was mostly true. When he wasn't dueling or studying, Kazuki got distracted by the littlest of things. It really was a wonder just how he didn't get distracted during a duel or while studying.

"It's not like that happens all the time," Kazuki mumbled.

Yuya stretched out a hand and patted his brother's shoulder. "Not all the time, no, just most of the time," he said with a grin.

"Thanks." The sarcasm was evident in the other boy's voice.

Yuya just kept smiling. "Speaking of that, are we still gonna duel, Little Bro?" he asked.

"Who are you calling 'little bro'? I know I'm older than you, and you and Gongenzaka were gonna duel, remember?" Kazuki said.

"I know I'm older, and I meant afterwards."

"I'm positive I'm older, and that's fine by me."

"I'm positive I'm older, and great! We haven't dueled in a while."

"No, I'm positive I'm older, and it has been a while."

Yuzu sweatdropped at the half-argument, half-conversation Yuya was having with his twin. "Are you two really arguing over who's older _again_?"

"Maybe," Yuya said.

Yuzu's sweatdrop grew and she shook her head. "Anyway, weren't you and Gongenzaka going to duel?" she said.

Yuya nodded and grinned at his other closest friend. Tall and stocky, Gongenzaka Noboru had black hair style like a pompadour and tied back by a red band. "Ready, Gongenzaka?"

"I, the man Gongenzaka, am always ready," Gongenzaka declared and the two headed toward the duel chamber near the heart of You Show Duel School.

 **. . .**

As the duel between Gongenzaka and Yuya was going on, Kazuki was seated cross-legged on the ground with his back resting against the wall opposite of the viewing window. He was listening to the duel as he studied the requirements of summoning the monsters in his hand.

It didn't seem as if it would be too hard, based on the manuals and other source materials that he had looked through since he got these cards, but how to fit his new cards into his deck and his strategies was going to take some more thinking. He should probably go over those source materials again, just in case.

"Hey," a soft voice said and Kazuki turned his head to find Yamashiro Tatsuya standing at his side. The blue-haired boy was a grade schooler who often came to You Show with his study group but, today, he seemed to be staying longer than he usually did. The study group had already left for the day.

"Hey," Kazuki replied a little shyly. He wasn't really one to speak to others, since he was a bit less social than Yuya, but that didn't mean that he couldn't be polite. "Was there something you needed?"

"Erm, no, not really. I was just wondering...this school teaches the Entertainment Dueling that Sakaki Yusho founded, right?" Tatsuya asked.

"Right." Kazuki's face closed off a little at the mention of his dad. Three years ago, on the day that Sakaki Yusho was to defend his title as Duel Champion against Strong Ishijima, he didn't show up to the duel. Everyone labeled him as a coward as a result and, unfortunately, Kazuki and Yuya were left to deal with the consequences of their dad's actions.

And Kazuki resented his dad for that. His dad had just up and left and left his kids to deal with the aftermath of his action. The bullies. The hurtful words. It never ceased to anger Kazuki, and upset Yuya even though the latter tried to hide it behind a smiling mask. Even if the bullying had stopped in recent years, the scars left by those bullies never did.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to upset you," Tatsuya said quickly, making Kazuki realize that his brief flash of anger must have appeared on his face.

"Oh don't worry about it. It's just hard to think about Dad," Kazuki assured the boy. "But, yeah, that's what You Show's all about. Why do you ask?"

Tatsuya bit his lip. "Well, it's just..." he trailed off and turned his gaze to the window where Gongenzaka had just summoned Superheavy Samurai Waka-O2, a giant blue machine monster. "I've been thinking about which duel school I wanna attend and, well, I don't really know much about this one, so I was just curious about it."

With You Show Duel School being in the same city as prestigious schools like Leo Duel School, it didn't come as a surprise that Tatsuya didn't know much about it. Very few applicants applied to You Show because of the kind of dueling that You Show taught, and most of the applicants wanted to learn from a more prestigious school, and that number had dropped significantly after Yusho failed to show up to his duel against Strong Ishijima.

"What do you want to know?" Kazuki said.

Because of the lack of students, You Show was always in danger of being closed, and Kazuki didn't want that to happen. No matter his personal feelings toward his dad, his dad's dueling style and way of bringing happiness and smiles to his audience was something that Kazuki could respect and You Show was his dad's way of reaching out to potential entertainment duelists who wanted to follow in his teachings and his dueling style. There was no way that Kazuki was going to let his dad's school close, and if he could, possibly, get a new student to enroll then that could help prevent that. And it would probably make the principal beyond happy.

Kazuki spent the next ten minutes answering Tatsuya's questions before a commotion in the arena came to him and he, pushing himself to his feet, watched in surprise when the Action Field suddenly fizzled out, sending Yuya, who'd been standing atop a pagoda, to the ground.

Kazuki winced. "Ouch…"

"Is he okay?" Tatsuya asked.

"Knowing Yuya, probably."

Sure enough, Yuya was quick to recover from falling off the pagoda when the Action Field disappeared and gave the few people in the audience a funny face.

Tatsuya's brow furrowed.

"See? He's fine," Kazuki added while smiling sadly at his brother. He knew his brother better than anyone, except maybe their mother, and he knew that his brother was simply putting up a facade to try to make light of the situation he ended up in. It was a mask, the mask of a clown he'd been wearing since the day their dad disappeared, but one that Kazuki could easily see past.

He was probably the only one that Yuya let that mask fall around because he had dealt with his fair share of the bullying and hurtful remarks that scarred Yuya's spirit as well. He just dealt with it a different way.

Yuya would eventually let that mask fall, but he needed to do it on his own. It wasn't anyone else's place to try to force him to give up the mask that has been his way of protecting himself from getting too hurt by the words of the bullies. He'd admitted to Kazuki that if he could make fun of himself then it wouldn't hurt so much when others made fun of him.

"Still," Tatsuya murmured.

"Tatsuya, let's head home," Tatsuya's mother said as she walked over to join the two of them.

"All right, Mom. Thanks for answering my questions, Kazuki," Tatsuya said and, with a wave, jogged after his mother as the tall woman led the way out of the school.

Kazuki glanced through the window as Yuya and Gongenzaka made their way out of the arena and he turned and walked toward the elevator as well. He had this odd feeling that Yuzu wasn't going to be happy, but he was also curious about why the Action Field went out on them.

He found out quickly enough when he walked into the lounge to find Shuzo practically crying while Yuzu was scowling at Yuya who'd taken a seat on the couch, his goggles resting over his eyes and his lips pulled into a slight pout. Gongenzaka was standing nearby, his arms folded across his chest. Kazuki raised an eyebrow. "Why's the principal almost crying?"

"Yuzu broke the Solid Vision System," Yuya said, his pout deepening as he added, "And I wanted to keep dueling and making the audience laugh."

"That only happened 'cause you were goofing off," Yuzu exclaimed, swatting at Yuya, but the boy jumped off the couch and dodged out of the way, only to run smack into Gongenzaka.

"The boy wasn't laughing," Gongenzaka said firmly, clearly not amused by Yuya's words or his actions.

"I'm sure he was cracking up," Yuya said with a lighthearted grin as he removed the goggles from his eyes.

"Someone laughing at you is not the same as someone laughing with you," Gongenzaka snapped. "Your father always made his audience smile and laugh and be happy with his dueling. Have you forgotten that his dueling stirred the hearts of his audience?"

Yuya shrugged. "They were all laughing at him in the end."

"Yuya!" Gongenzaka and Yuzu exclaimed.

"He's not wrong, technically speaking anyway," Kazuki pointed out.

"Kazuki," Yuzu chided.

"What?"

Yuzu sighed.

"Oh ho. I sense something is amiss in here! Am I interrupting something?" At the sound of a voice right behind Kazuki, he jumped and whirled around to find a tall, thin man dressed in a yellow-and-black suit standing in the doorway to the lounge. He had a small mustache and straight black hair with a pair of lightly tinted sunglasses over his eyes.

"So sorry. Didn't mean to startle you," the man added with a grin.

"Um, who're you?" Shuzo asked.

"I'm Nico Smiley, promoter and manager of the current Action Duel Champion Strong Ishijima," the man, Nico Smiley, said.

"Strong...Ishijima?" Yuya whispered.

Smiley nodded, still grinning. "Fan Appreciation Day is coming up and Strong Ishijima has requested that you,"—he pointed at a startled Yuya—"join him and duel him that day."

"Me?" Yuya said in shock.

"Uh huh. Isn't it great? You can fulfill the promise you made three years ago," Smiley said.

Kazuki remembered that promise. He'd been present when his brother had run to the edge of the stands and shouted at Strong Ishijima, telling him that his father wasn't a coward and would show up but, until then, he would duel in his father's place. It had been very brave of Yuya to stand up to the other duelist and Kazuki couldn't help but feel proud of his brother for his bravery. Back then, he would have never been able to do something like that and, even now, he wasn't sure if he could or not.

Yuya looked nervous however, not that Kazuki could blame him. Anyone would be nervous at the thought of facing a champion as strong as Strong Ishijima; there was a reason why he was still the duel champion after three years. He was a strong duelist and, even though he'd gotten his title from Yusho because Yusho never showed up to his duel, he'd proven himself strong enough to keep it.

Smiley pulled out a poster and laid it out in front of them. At the center of the poster was an image of Strong Ishijima and, in the corner, was a picture of Yuya with a caption reading that Yuya would be the Duel Champion's opponent on Fan Appreciation Day.

"Everything is already set up," Smiley said.

"I'm not gonna let Yuya compete," Shuzo said firmly.

Smiley's smile faded. "What? But why?" he protested. "But Sakaki Yusho's fans will love it if his eldest son shows up."

"I'm not gonna let you use Yuya as your show pony!"

Kazuki saw his brother stand up out of the corner of his eyes as Smiley and Shuzo continued to argue. He caught his brother's arm as the boy started past him. "Yuya..." he began but stopped when he caught sight of the nervousness and distress on his brother's face. That look told him that Yuya needed some time alone to process what Smiley just told him. He let go of his brother's arm and added, "Don't be out too late. Mom'll get worried."

Yuya gave him a grateful smile and nodded before he left the room, quietly closing the door behind him.

When Kazuki turned his attention back to the argument, he was just in time to hear Smiley say, "It's unfortunate. As a token of our gratitude for agreeing, Leo Corporation was willing to give you the newest Real Solid Vision system for free."

"Really?" Shuzo's eyes lit up and he grinned.

Yuzu promptly smacked him, hard, upside the head with her harisen. "I thought you said you didn't want them to use Yuya as a show pony," she scolded.

"But..." Shuzo began, holding his head.

"What about how Yuya feels about all of this?" Gongenzaka demanded. "Shouldn't we take that into account as well? Wait..." The stocky young man frowned when he noticed that they were missing someone. "Where is Yuya?"

"He needed to get some air," Kazuki said. "He has a lot to think about. We should let him have some space to come to his own conclusion about all of this."

Yuzu sighed, but nodded in agreement.

Smiley gathered the poster and stretched his arms above his head. "Well, I'd best get going. It's only a few days until Fan Appreciation Day. I do hope to see Yuya- _kun_ there," he said before walking out of the lounge.

 **. . .**

Yuya sat on the railing of the bridge, gazing out at the waters that lay in front of him, with his goggles resting over his eyes. He hadn't known where he was going when he left You Show, but the bridge seemed as good a place to think as anyway. His thoughts kept going back to what happened three years ago, when he had challenged Strong Ishijima in his father's place. He hadn't really thought about it; he only wanted everyone to stop calling his father a coward and, at the time, thought that challenging Strong Ishijima in his father's place was a good move.

But, now that he was actually faced with the chance to fulfill that wish from three years ago, he couldn't quench the nervousness that was spreading throughout him. He had every right to be nervous, but he didn't know what to do. If he backed out of the duel then that would only make his action from three years ago meaningless and his father would still be considered a coward. But if he did duel, then he would be up against the Duel Champion, someone who'd earned his title many times over in the past three years, and he wasn't sure if he could win against the champion.

He removed the pendant from around his neck as his thoughts drifted to the one time when he was younger and his father had spoken to him, encouraging him to laugh whenever he felt like crying and that once he started laughing, that would give him the energy to keep on going.

 _ _He remembered when Yusho had taken the pendant that he wore around his neck and swung it in front of him, saying, "It's like this pendulum. The more you push, the more it comes back. The same can be applied to dueling."__

 _ _"You can't do anything if you're frozen in fear, Yuya," Yusho said as the pendulum swayed in front of little Yuya's eyes. "You need to step forward and have courage if you want to win. If you keep pushing forward with courage then happiness will swing back to you, just like this pendulum."__

 _ _Little Yuya gazed at the pendulum, mesmerized.__

 _ _Yusho smiled at the small boy. "Remember, the pendulum can also be used for discovery, Yuya," he said gently. "When you're lost, the pendulum can show you where to go."__

Yuya pulled himself from his thoughts as he watched the prism-shaped pendant sway in front of his eyes.

"Yuya?" Yuya heard his brother's voice right before he felt the other boy sit down next to him. "It's getting late. I thought I said not to stay out too late or Mom'll get worried."

"Sorry. I lost track of time," he said. He hadn't realized he'd been sitting on that railing for a while but he could see the sun was starting to set. He'd been so lost in his thoughts and in his memories that he hadn't noticed.

"Are you all right?" Kazuki asked.

"I'm fine now," Yuya said and gave his brother a small smile. "I just remembered Dad's words and...I think I've found my resolve. I know what to do now."

Kazuki smiled. "Well, whatever you decide to do, you know I've got your back."

"I know."

The two fell silent for a moment, gazing out at the waters and at the swaying pendulum that Yuya held in front of their eyes.

"Sometimes," Kazuki began softly and, when Yuya glanced at him, he saw a pensive expression on his brother's face, "I wonder if I could ever be as courageous as you. I want Dad to be proud of me and yet when I try to take a step forward with courage, like you did, I falter." His brow furrowed and Yuya gazed at his brother sympathetically, knowing what this was all about.

Ever since their father disappeared three years ago, Yuya and Kazuki had dealt with it in different ways. Yuya hid behind the mask of a clown and made fun of himself before others could hurt him by making fun of him for his father running away. On the other hand, Kazuki almost completely closed himself off from others, slinking back into the shell that he'd only just started to emerge from and socially isolating himself from anyone with whom he wasn't already well acquainted.

"I'm not as brave as you are, Yuya," Kazuki said quietly. "I don't think I ever will be."

Yuya gazed at his brother and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Everyone falters every once and a while," he said. "Just remember what Dad said. You can't do anything when you're frozen in fear. You have to take that step. Even if you falter, don't let that get you down and don't let the fact that you faltered once, twice, or even a few times stop you from moving forward. Dad was right about that. I should have remembered that sooner, but I guess my nerves got the better of me for a moment."

"Yeah. Well, we should get home or Mom's gonna get mad or worried, or both," Kazuki said, climbing off the railing. He smiled at Yuya. "Thanks though."

"Anytime, Bro," Yuya said with a smile and climbed off the railing as well, putting the pendant around his neck again before he and his brother began making their way toward their home.

 **. . .**

The stadium was packed, making it difficult for Kazuki, Yuzu, Shuzo, and Gongenzaka to make their way through the crowd toward the dueling arena inside. Everyone was scrambling to get to their seats, none of them wanted to miss the upcoming duel between Strong Ishijima and the eldest son of Sakaki Yusho. Finding seats in that chaos made finding a needle in a haystack look easy, so Kazuki, Yuzu, Shuzo, and Gongenzaka didn't bother on looking and simply stayed standing near the entrance to the lower stands.

"Do you think Yuya will show up?" Gongenzaka asked.

"I have no doubt he will," Kazuki said with confidence. His talk with Yuya a few days ago had also helped him to, at least, start to overcome his own insecurities. He knew that he was unlikely to leave the shell he'd disappeared into three years ago right away, but he was starting to edge his way out. Yuya was right that he shouldn't let the fact that he faltered a few times when he tried to move forward stop him from trying again.

"Yuya..." Yuzu murmured.

"Oh I can just smell the new Real Solid Vision system! I can't wait to get my hands on it," Shuzo said eagerly.

Yuzu's eye twitched and she smacked her father hard upside the head with her harisen.

Kazuki winced in sympathy. He knew what it felt like to be on the receiving end of that harisen.

"Welcome, everyone," Smiley said and everyone's attention turned to the stadium. "Today's main event is the long awaited duel between the Action Duel Champion, Strong Ishijima, and the eldest son of the Star Champion Sakaki Yusho, Sakaki Yuya!"

Smiley went on to activate the Action Field on which the duel would take place. Called Frontier Fang Castle, the Action Field was a giant stone castle surrounded by a thick forest. On one of the castle's turrets was the muscular form of Strong Ishijima, his purple hair falling past his shoulders and a militaristic uniform covering his body, with his duel disk resting on his arm.

"Introducing first, the Ultimate King of Action Dueling for the past three years, Strong Ishijima!" Smiley declared.

Everyone began cheering.

Ishijima let loose a battle cry.

"And, next, we introduce the young challenger to the Ultimate King. Sakaki Yuya!" Smiley said, gesturing to the other side of the field. A spotlight shone down on the spot, but it was empty.

"Where is he?" Yuzu said in puzzlement.

"He'll show up," Kazuki said, his brow furrowing. __Where are you, Yuya?__

"Did Sakaki Yuya run away?" one audience member wondered.

"He must have, just like his father," another one that was close to where Kazuki was standing said.

"Like father, like son, I guess," his companion added.

"Yuya is far braver than you think he is," Kazuki murmured to himself.

Yuzu cast a glance at him, having overheard his words, but she said nothing about that. She just smiled, nodded, and refocused her attention on the arena down below. "Just give him a minute. Yuya will show up," she said firmly.

"Hey, who's that?" At the sound of the audience member's exclamation, Kazuki turned to find someone dressed in a clown outfit had appeared behind Ishijima, dancing around and making funny faces.

Bewildered, Kazuki raised his eyebrows. What was Yuya doing?

The audience began shouting at Ishijima to turn around and, when he did, he frowned at the clown behind him. "Are you the brat of Sakaki Yusho?" he demanded.

Yuya bowed mockingly.

"Is that how you show respect to the Champion?" Ishijima demanded.

Yuya removed his mask. "I apologize for my rudeness," he said with a smile. "To make up for it, would you do me the honor of allowing me to duel you? I wonder how great of a duelist you are." His duel disk blazed to life revealing an orange-edged blade.

"Know your place. I will show you the skills of a pro!"

Yuya just smiled.

"Well, this is an unexpected turn of events. But everyone is ready! Let's begin!" Smiley declared and raised his hand as he began chanting, " _Duelists locked in battle. Kicking the earth and dancing in the air alongside their monsters. They storm through the field. Behold! This is the newest and greatest evolution of dueling! Action..._ "

"Duel!" Yuya, Ishijima, and the audience shouted in unison as Smiley snapped his fingers and the holographic bubble containing the Action Cards shattered, sending the cards raining down.

The duel started off with Yuya and began with him summoning Entermate Discover Hippo, a pink hippo with a top hat on his head. Then, after zip-lining down to land on the hippo's back, he began running through the forest, challenging Ishijima to catch him if he could.

Ishijima wasn't happy with Yuya's words, or his actions, neither was Gongenzaka.

"He should face Ishijima proudly," Gongenzaka said, upset.

"I'm sure he has a plan," Kazuki said, though what that plan was, he couldn't figure that out just yet.

Ishijima went on the offensive and, with the effect of Feast of the Wild LV5, brought out Barbarian #2 and Barbarian #1 before quickly releasing them to bring out Barbarian King, a giant red-skinned orc-like warrior in dark purple armor wielding a giant mallet.

As Barbarian King went to attack Entermate Hippo, throwing aside several trees that got in its way, Yuya quickly used the Action Card Evasion to dodge the attack, somersaulting away from the club that swung at him.

Kazuki watched the ease with which Yuya grabbed the Action Card and pressed his lips together as he realized what was happening.

 _ _I think I might be starting to get, at least, an idea of what your plan is, Yuya__ _,_ he thought.

"He can't win just by evading. He needs to fight," Gongenzaka exclaimed.

"He is. He is reinventing himself while fighting." At the sound of his mom's voice, Kazuki turned to find the tall, blonde woman with golden bangs standing just behind them.

"Mom?"

Sakaki Yoko smiled in greeting at Kazuki.

Back on the field, Yuya had just avoided Barbarian King's second attack, made because of the monster's effect, by using the Action Card Miracle, which halved the damage and prevented Entermate Discover Hippo's destruction. His Life Points were now at 2900, which was better than it could have been.

"What did you mean about Yuya reinventing himself?" Yuzu asked Yoko.

"Yuya spent the last three years behind the mask of a clown," Yoko explained. "Unlike Kazuki, who just went back into and remained in his shell and tried to ignore what others said about him and tried to avoid attracting anyone's attention, Yuya made fun of himself before letting others make fun of him."

She turned her attention to the duel and smiled as she added, "While Kazuki simply wants to make his father proud of him, Yuya wants to follow in his father's footsteps as an Entertainment Duelist. No matter what they both want, they both admire their father and have since they were little."

On the field, Yuya had just sacrificed Discover Hippo to bring out Odd-Eyes Dragon, a large bipedal red dragon with white armor plating around its chest and dichromatic eyes.

"The fun has only just begun!" Yuya shouted.

Kazuki smiled as his father's famous catchphrase left his brother's lips. It suited him.

Shuzo was cheering. "That's Yusho's catchphrase! My blood is burning with excitement. Way to go, Yuya! Hot-blooded!"

"You'd use the catchphrase of that coward?" Ishijima scoffed.

"Dad wasn't a coward. I will win this duel using the skills Dad taught me," Yuya declared with determination and proceeded to activate Wonder Balloon, and sent three Action Cards to the Cemetery to lower Barbarian King's Attack by 1000 times the number of cards he sent out with Wonder Balloon's effect. Barbarian King was completely engulfed by three large balloons. "It's Attack's 0 now!" Smiley exclaimed. "Yuya managed to turn the duel around with the clever use of Action Cards."

"So that's what your plan was," Kazuki said with a soft smile. "Nice going, Yuya."

When Yuya informed everyone of Odd-Eyes's effect, Kazuki knew that if the attack went through then Yuya would win. Odd-Eyes's effect would inflict damage equal to half of the original Attack of the monster that Odd-Eyes destroyed in battle. Ishijima, unfortunately, didn't look fazed.

Kazuki frowned. __What do you have planned, Ishijima?__ he thought, since Ishijima had the look of someone who had something up his sleeve.

And have something up his sleeve, he did. When Yuya attacked, and everyone thought he'd won, Ishijima revealed that he'd grabbed the Action Card Miracle just in time, allowing him to remain in the game.

He then used a Trap, Barbarian Rage, to increase his monster's Attack by 2000 and, once Yuya ended his turn and Wonder Balloon's effect ended, Barbarian King's Attack jumped up to 5000. It roared and swung its mallet, destroying all the balloons that had engulfed it.

The tide turned against Yuya in Ishijima's next turn when he succeeded in destroying Yuya's Odd-Eyes Dragon. The resulting shockwave sent Yuya flying to the ground, hitting hard enough that Kazuki winced. Yuya's Life Points went down to 400 and Odd-Eyes Dragon, due to the Trap's other effect, was sent back to Yuya's hand. To make matters even worse, Ishijima restored all of his Life Points with the effect of Barbarian Magic.

"That's not good. Ishijima's back to where he started," Yuzu whispered.

Ishijima ended his turn with that, stating that Yuya was lucky because Barbarian King could only attack monsters twice. He then offered Yuya the chance to surrender and run away like his father.

"I will never run," Yuya shouted, but lowered his head, his hand gripping the pendant that hung around his neck. His posture clearly indicated that he didn't know what to do.

Kazuki rested his hand on the sapphire pendant around his neck when he felt it start to warm and glance down at it in puzzlement. He wasn't sure why it was warming. _ _Odd…__

"...zuki? Kazuki, are you okay?" At the sound of Yuzu's voice, Kazuki blinked, unsure of what just happened.

"Huh?" he said as his hand released the pendant.

"You spaced out for a moment there," Yuzu said.

"I did?" Did he blackout? He wasn't sure. He just remembered his pendant warming and then...what happened after that?

"Sorry," he added when he saw the worried look in Yuzu's blue eyes.

She gave him a small smile. "Don't worry about it. I'm just glad you're okay now," she said and turned back to the duel, her brow furrowed in puzzlement. "Though I'm at a loss of what just happened."

"What do you mean?" Kazuki turned to the duel and was surprised that Yuya had two monsters hovering in columns of blue light on either side of his field, with the numbers 1 and 8 resting beneath each one. He also had three monsters on the field: Entermate Whip Viper, Entermate Sword Fish, and an upgraded version of Odd-Eyes Dragon. Odd-Eye Pendulum Dragon, according to the screen displaying the monster's name and stats.

And Yuya...Yuya looked so confident. His lips were curved into a smile and his eyes were filled with a determination that wasn't there earlier.

"Wait, how did this happen?" Kazuki added bewildered.

"You weren't paying attention?" Shuzo asked. "Yuya brought 'em out through use of a Pendulum Summon."

"Pendulum Summon?"

Shuzo nodded and returned his attention to the duel, looking excited at what looked to be the turning point for Yuya.

Yuzu studied Kazuki. "You really didn't see that?"

Kazuki shook his head. "I don't...remember seeing how those monsters came onto the field. The last thing I remember was that Yuya was about to start his turn and then you were asking if I was all right."

"It seems like you blacked out for some reason. Are you sure you're okay?" Yuzu asked.

"I'm fine now," Kazuki assured her. No matter how confused he was by what just happened, he was sure that he was all right now. While there was a slight gap in his memory, that was all that was wrong.

Yuya used of the effects of Whip Viper and Sword Fish, which decreased Barbarian King's to 500, then Timegazer Magician's Pendulum Effect to negate Ishijima's Trap, and Stargazer Magician's Pendulum Effect to negate the Action Card Ishijima had grabbed.

"Let's go, Odd-Eyes," Yuya declared as he stood confidently on top of Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, his lips still in a wide grin. "With your dual-colored eyes, lay waste to all that you see! _Spiral Strike Burst!_ " Odd-Eyes ran forward and leapt into the air, unleashing a dark red beam from its mouth. Barbarian King immediately raised his club to catch the attack.

"I will get you next turn," Ishijima said.

"Odd-Eyes' effect!" Yuya declared. "When it battles a Level 5 or higher monster, the battle damage is doubled! _Reaction Force_!" The orbs on Odd-Eyes' body glowed brightly as an orange flame engulfed the red stream. The double stream of fire slammed into and through Barbarian King, obliterating it and crashing into Ishijima. The duel champion was thrown backwards, crashing hard into the ground as his Life Points fell to zero.

Sakaki Yuya had won.

 **. . .**

"So you have no idea how you did it?"

"No. I just remember wondering what I should do next and the next thing I knew, everyone was cheering and then Smiley asked me about that summoning method I used."

"Odd. I don't even remember seeing you summon those monsters. I think I might've blacked out for some reason."

"That's really odd." Yuya sighed as he leaned back against the wall and gazed up at the ceiling. "I even looked through my deck and most of my cards are different now."

"They are?"

He nodded. Most of his monster cards were now half orange and half green and had an extra effect.

Kazuki's brow furrowed. "I wish I could remember how you did this. Did rewatching the duel help you at all?"

"Not by much. I didn't really have enough time this morning to watch it all." Yuya pushed away from the wall and smiled. "But I guess I'll just have to try my best in my duel against Yuzu and hope it comes back to me. It's hard to believe there are so many new students wanting to attend You Show now."

"Yeah. This'll really help You Show, I think. And I know the principal's happy. He hasn't stopped hugging that new Real Solid Vision system and crying since this morning after Leo Corporation finished installing it."

Yuya laughed. That would be just like the principal. "Well, I'd better get out there," he said.

"Good luck. I hope it comes back to you."

 _Yeah, me too._ Yuya decided to try to focus on the positive and began to try to remind himself of what happened during his duel against Strong Ishijima before he Pendulum Summoned; there had to be a clue somewhere in his memories that could indicate just how he'd done it.

He also went over what he'd seen in the recap of the duel but, as he'd told his brother, he hadn't been able to finish watching it before he had to head off to school. That recap might be the only way he could figure out how he'd Pendulum Summoned the first time but, until he could actually watch it fully, he would have to just go based off what he could remember and hope for the best. If he could figure out what he did during his duel against Yuzu then he wouldn't need to do that.

 _ _Focus, Yuya,__ he told himself as he made his way into the arena. __I can definitely do this.__

But he didn't.

He tried to remember and even tried to recreate his duel against Strong Ishijima by allowing Yuzu to actually attack him directly with Prodigy Mozart the Melodious Maestra in an attempt to put himself in a pinch. He'd been in a pinch when he Pendulum Summoned against Strong Ishijima, so he thought that could work again.

It hadn't, and Yuzu ended up winning that duel.

Facing the crowd of potential students who'd come to You Show to witness his Pendulum Summoning was hard, especially when he could see the disappointment in their eyes. The only ones who didn't look disappointment, though they were puzzled, were the two youngest students at You Show. The first was a small red haired girl named Ayu Ayukawa, and the second was a large blonde boy name Futoshi Harada.

"I have a question," one of the kids said. "During your duel, you mentioned Pendulum cards. What are those?"

"I don't know what they're actually called," Yuya admitted. "That's just the name I gave to them."

Yuzu glanced at him. "Can I see those cards?" she asked and, when Yuya nodded and handed her his deck, she frowned as she compared his cards to hers. "Your cards aren't the same as mine."

Kazuki peered at Yuya's deck from between him and Yuzu, causing both of them to jump in surprise. "You weren't kidding when you said they looked different now," he commented.

"Gees, Kazuki, would you stop sneaking up on us like that?" Yuzu exclaimed to which Kazuki smiled sheepishly.

"I swear you walk like a cat," Yuya muttered and, studying his cards, added, "I don't even know why they look different."

"If you're the only one with those cards then that isn't fair," the kid who'd asked the question said and, when Yuya turned to gaze at the crowd, he winced at the angry glares that he was receiving. "That's cheating. You cheated to win against Strong Ishijima 'cause you used cards that no one else can use."

"I didn't cheat," Yuya protested.

"The system wouldn't have registered the summon if it wasn't legal," Kazuki objected.

"He must've rigged the system somehow," another kid said with a sneer.

"That's stupid. You'd have to be a pretty talented hacker or a whiz at technology to be able to do something like that, and Yuya can't do that," Kazuki insisted, but it didn't seem as if anyone was listening to him.

"He's a coward, just like his dad," another kid snapped while the rest of the crowd were still directing glares at Yuya before they turned and started to leave.

"Don't compare him to Dad! He's no coward!" But, once again, Kazuki was ignored.

Yuya lowered his head, feeling downcast at his inability to Pendulum Summon again and being accused of cheating since, in a way, he had because no one else had those cards. He lowered his goggles to cover his eyes.

"Yuya..." Yuzu murmured.

"Don't listen to them, Yuya. They're wrong. You didn't cheat," Kazuki said.

Yuya didn't respond.

"Big Bro Yuya isn't a cheater!" At the shout, Yuya, Kazuki, and Yuzu turned to find the blue-haired boy that Yuya recognized as being part of the study group that came to You Show often was standing there, glaring at the crowd. "He won against Strong Ishijima fair and square! I believe in Big Bro Yuya. I know he beat Strong Ishijima with the Pendulum Summon!"

The crowd ignored the boy's words and just left, trampling Shuzo who was trying to convince them to stay.

Gongenzaka appeared behind the blue-haired boy and rested his hands on the boy's shoulders. "Doesn't it frustrate you that your first fan has to say something like that?" he said with a frown at Yuya.

"First fan?" Yuya repeated.

"That's Yamashiro Tatsuya," Yuzu explained. "He comes by often with his study group."

Ayu nodded and beamed at Yuya. "He's been your fan since you beat Strong Ishijima, Big Bro Yuya!" she said. "You were awesome in that duel!"

"That duel gave me the shivers!" Futoshi exclaimed.

Tatsuya nodded. "You were amazing, Big Bro Yuya, dueling in front of everyone like that and bringing everyone together with that single duel. Someday, I wanna have a duel just like yours!" he said with bright, excited purplish-gray eyes.

Kazuki nudged Yuya and, when he glanced at him, the white-and-blue haired boy gave him an encouraging half-smile. "Are you gonna let one of your fans down by giving up right away?" he said.

"But I don't even remember how I did it," Yuya reminded his brother.

"So? That shouldn't stop you from trying and moving forward."

"And you reinvented yourself in that duel, Yuya," Gongenzaka said firmly. "Now I know you'll never run."

Yuya smiled at his friend and brother and nodded, removing his goggles from his eyes. "You're right, both of you," he said. "I'm not gonna give up! I'll figure out how to Pendulum Summon again and I will master it! Yuzu, Gongenzaka, Kazuki, let's duel!"

Yuzu smiled. "Yuya...Right!" she said, her eyes set in determination.

"Let's do it," Kazuki said eagerly.

"I, the man Gongenzaka, accept your challenge," Gongenzaka said firmly.

Yuya grinned. His brother and his best friends were the greatest.

 **. . .**

" _Sway, Pendulum of the Soul. Draw your arc of light across the ether. Pendulum Summon! Come forth, my monsters!_ " As the words left Yuya's mouth while the pendulum swayed between the two columns of blue light in which were Timegazer Magician and Stargazer Magician, three blasts of light shot downward and crashed into the ground, revealing two Entermate monsters, Whip Viper and Kaleido Scorpion, and Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon.

"Congrats, Yuya. After 271 times, you've finally done it," Gongenzaka said, looking like he was about to start crying while Yuya smiled tiredly.

"And now you look like you're about ready to fall asleep where you're standing," Kazuki said through the intercom. For the past few days since Fan Appreciation Day, Kazuki and Gongenzaka, and Yuzu whenever she could, had been dueling Yuya in an attempt to help him remember how to Pendulum Summon. After several duels, and rewatching his duel against Strong Ishijima, Yuya had finally remembered how to do it.

Yuya yawned and rubbed his eyes.

"Yuzu's not gonna be happy if you fall asleep in class tomorrow. Let's go home," Kazuki said.

Yuya yawned again but nodded and shut off his duel disk. "Thanks again, Gongenzaka."

"You are welcome, Yuya," Gongenzaka said as he also deactivated his duel disk while Kazuki shut down the Real Solid Vision system and made his way to the elevator.

After saying bye to Gongenzaka, Yuya and Kazuki began the trek home. Even though it was still light out, the sun was starting to set, so they had left at a good time. Their mother didn't like it when they were out after dark; even if Maiami City was pretty safe at night, she still felt better if they were home once it was dark.

Yuya was exhausted, though, but Kazuki knew that was only because of how often he had dueled today. Even though he knew that Yuya was proud of himself, and Kazuki was proud of him, for finally getting Pendulum Summoning down, it had taken a lot out of him.

"I'm glad I finally got it down," Yuya said around another yawn.

Kazuki smiled at his brother. It was nice of Yuya to have finally gotten the hang of Pendulum Summoning. It wasn't as if he was jealous and, while he would like to learn how to Pendulum Summon, he was fine without the method he was teaching himself for now.

Briefly, he wondered if Yuya would always be the only one who could Pendulum Summon. He suspected that if that was the case then Yuya would still get several people claiming that his access to Pendulum Summoning was giving him an unfair advantage. It wasn't cheating, no matter what those people said, but Kazuki supposed it did give him a bit of an unfair advantage.

"I wonder what would happen if others learned how to Pendulum Summon," Kazuki said. "It'd be nice to be the one to create this summoning method and have it become mainstream like Fusion, Synchro, and Xyz, don't you think?"

Yuya's brow furrowed. "But they'd need Pendulum cards in order to do it, and I'm the only one who has them," he pointed out, sounding almost disappointed at the thought of the summoning method becoming commonplace.

"If everyone had Pendulum cards, it'd be nice. At least, I think so," Kazuki said just as his duel disk began ringing and he pulled it out. "Hello?"

" _ _Kazuki, where are you and Yuya?__ " Yoko's voice said through the phone that was incorporated within Kazuki's duel disk.

"We're about five minutes away, Mom," Kazuki said.

" _ _Dinner's on the table when you get home__ _,_ " Yoko said.

"All right. Thanks."

" _ _How did it go?__ "

Kazuki smiled at his distracted brother in pride. "Yuya finally managed to do it. He Pendulum Summoned again," he said.

" _ _That's good news!__ "

"Definitely. I'm proud of him."

Yuya glanced at him at that and gave him a small smile that Kazuki returned.

" _ _So am I. I will see you soon. Be safe__ _._ "

"We will, Mom. See you in a bit." Kazuki hung up and returned his duel disk to its holster on his belt and glanced at Yuya. "Mom's got dinner ready. I dunno about you, but I'm hungry."

Yuya's stomach growled at that moment and his cheeks reddened. "Well, we did have a very light lunch," he said and the two began jogging toward their house.

 **. . .**

Kazuki wondered if he could borrow Yuzu's harisen and smack Sawatari Shingo with it. The day had started off well, just with Yuya getting a paper fan of doom to the back of the head because he fell asleep in class, and then they met Sawatari Shingo when he shot three sucker-tipped darts into Yuya's face. That was when the day started to go downhill.

Sawatari told them that he wanted to check out Yuya's Pendulum Summoning and managed to convince them to have that demonstration at LDS's Center Court.

While Kazuki had gotten a bad feeling about Sawatari's offer, and Yuzu insisted that they could have done that demonstration at You Show—which Kazuki also agreed with—Ayu, Futoshi, and Tatsuya were convinced and managed to convince Yuzu and Kazuki as well.

And, now that they were there, Kazuki really wished he'd listened to his gut.

 _ _How low can that bastard sink__ _?_ he thought in fury, clenching his hands into fists and glaring down at Sawatari, who was still gloating about the Pendulum cards he'd stolen from Yuya, the cards that he now claimed were his.

To make matters worse, he'd had his cronies grab Yuzu, Ayu, Futoshi, and Kazuki as well and force them onto the top of one of the tallest towers in the Action Field Prison Tower of Darktown, and then challenged Yuya to a duel while also giving him many cards that he called trash. Kazuki, personally, believed that no card was trash and he knew Yuya felt the same way. To prove that, Yuya had gathered the cards together carefully to avoid ripping them and slipped one into his deck.

Yuya did accept the duel, though. Kazuki was sure it was because he didn't really have a choice—Sawatari said that Yuya couldn't get Kazuki, Yuzu, and the kids back until after the duel—and he knew that distraction would hinder Yuya if he wasn't careful.

"Coward," Yuzu growled, glaring at Sawatari.

"I'll say," Kazuki thought in irritation, watching as the duel between Sawatari and Yuya began. "Yuya's gonna be distracted because he's going to be trying to get to us. I guess the only thing we can do is cheer him on and assure him that we're all right."

"Right. We can't do much else unless we can find a way down from this place," Yuzu said, scanning the tower and the chains that were encircling it. "And I don't see any ways down."

"Wonderful." Sawatari definitely deserved a smack from Yuzu's harisen.

Just as Kazuki expected, Yuya was a bit more focused on reaching Kazuki, Yuzu, and the three kids than on the duel itself. He summoned and used Whip Viper to make his way across the field toward the tower.

Sawatari, who was riding on top of the Lightning Board that he'd just summoned, easily kept pace with Yuya, forcing Yuya to divide his attention between them and the duel.

Kazuki hoped that Yuya would focus more on the duel itself; it wasn't as if he, Yuzu, and the kids were in danger.

Naturally, he had to jinx it but, then, how was he to know that this Action Field was filled with Action Traps as opposed to Action Magic Cards?

He winced as Yuya not only lost Whip Viper, but also some of his Life Points. And then the tower he, Yuzu, Ayu, Futoshi, and Tatsuya were on just happened to be on the receiving end of the resulting explosion, causing it to start leaning. Kazuki decided then and there that he was going to punch Sawatari in the face for this as he dived forward to catch Ayu's hand when the little red-haired girl went sliding off the edge of the tower with a scream. Futoshi was in a similar predicament but, thankfully, Yuzu managed to grab his hand before he could fall.

Ayu was trembling as she clung onto Kazuki's hand while Kazuki held tightly onto the chain next to him. "Big Bro Kazuki, I'm scared," she whimpered.

"It's okay," Kazuki said. "I've got you. I've got you."

Ayu whimpered but nodded slowly and tightened her grip.

"Yuzu?" Kazuki said, turning to the pink-haired girl.

"I've got him," Yuzu assured him as she curled her arm around the chain while tightening her grip on Futoshi's hand while Tatsuya had his arms wrapped around her waist in an attempt to keep himself from falling off as well.

Yuzu glared at Sawatari, who didn't seem to care about the predicament the five of them had ended up in as a result of Yuya's most recent turn; even if it wasn't Sawatari's fault, it wasn't Yuya's either. How was Yuya to know that the Action Field held primarily Action Trap Cards? It wasn't as if Sawatari deemed it important enough to let his opponent know of that little fact until afterwards.

Unfortunately, due to accidentally activating two Action Traps, Yuya became wary of using any of the Action Cards he came across, forcing him to rely on his own cards. While that wasn't that big of a deal, and Kazuki was confident that Yuya could win without using Action Cards, he also knew that the predicament he, Yuzu, and the kids were in was distracting Yuya even more than before.

"I don't wanna fall!" Futoshi cried.

Ayu was sobbing again.

"It's okay. Don't cry," Kazuki reassured the little girl while Yuzu was trying to calm Futoshi down by reminding him that boys didn't cry and that Yuya wasn't crying. "You've gotta be strong, Ayu- _chan_. Everything will be okay. Yuya'll get us out of this mess. I'm sure of it. Don't give up."

Ayu gazed at him with large teary eyes, but nodded slowly. "O...Okay," she stammered out.

"Don't worry, you guys!" Yuya shouted at them from down below, his words just barely reaching them. "I'll save you!"

"See?" Kazuki said, completely ignoring Sawatari's mocking response to Yuya's statement. "Yuya'll come and rescue us."

Yuzu nodded in agreement, her face set in determination. "Yes, he will," she said firmly. "Beat this second-rate duelist, Yuya!"

"Third rate is more like it," Kazuki said.

"Hundredth rate, now that I think about it," Yuzu amended.

"Thousandth rate would be better," Kazuki commented casually.

Yuzu grinned. "Okay, I'll agree with that one. Sawatari's a thousandth rate duelist," she said and glanced down at Futoshi and Ayu and gave them a reassuring smile. "Yuya will never lose to a thousandth rate duelist."

Ayu and Futoshi swallowed their fear and nodded, and Kazuki was relieved to see their fear slowly fading from their eyes to be replaced by determination. They believed in Yuya, just as Kazuki and Yuzu believed in him.

But then Sawatari, releasing Lightning Board to activate the effect of Release Trade and add a monster card with a Level that was one higher than Lightning Board, added Stargazer Magician to his hand. The arrogant look on his face and the way he was grinning caused Kazuki to frown.

"He can't do a Pendulum Summon with only one of Yuya's Pendulum cards," Yuzu said with a frown.

"His stance is suggesting confidence. He has the other Pendulum card in his hand. I'm sure of it," Kazuki said.

Yuzu didn't argue. Kazuki had always been pretty good at reading others. Most duelists were capable of reading others; it helped them to grow as a duelist since reading others helped to develop strategies. The more one knew about someone, the better they could predict their moves.

Kazuki was proven correct a few moments later when Sawatari proceeded to use Stargazer Magician and Timegazer Magician to Pendulum Summon Power Darts Shooter, Rocket Darts Shooter, and Ultimate Darts Shooter, all in Attack Position.

"Pendulum Summoning is amazing," Sawatari exclaimed and began laughing while Yuya looked to have gone into shock, his eyes wide and his mouth slightly agape.

"He Pendulum Summoned?" Tatsuya gasped in disbelief.

"Yuya..." Yuzu whispered.

 **. . .**

Off in the shadows of the stadium, Shuinin Sora watched the duel while licking the lollipop in his hand. He could tell that the boy Sakaki Yuya was in a bit of a tough predicament; not only had that other kid, Sawatari, managed to bring out three powerful monsters at once, but Yuya was out of monsters. It wasn't long before Sawatari, using the three monsters he Pendulum Summoned, knocked Yuya down to his last 600 Life Points.

He hummed to himself. It was an interesting duel. That was for sure. Sawatari seemed to be an okay duelist, though Sora felt that stealing someone else's cards as Sawatari had done was what prevented him from becoming more than an okay duelist. Even for someone like Sora, who grew up in the harsh environment of Academia, that was one thing that they never did; they relied on their skills and, while they did get ruthless in their duels and they did some morally questionable actions, even they didn't stoop so low as to steal another duelist's cards.

At least, Sora had never done that and none of the duelists he'd fought had ever stooped that low.

Sora licked his lollipop. He had considered on attending LDS for the sole purpose of continuing his mission, but he was starting to wonder if it was worth it. It wasn't as if he'd been ordered to attend LDS; he'd only been ordered to find information and keep an eye on this dimension for the time being, but he had thought it would be best to join LDS because it was rumored to be the best school in this dimension.

Sakaki Yuya began his turn, imbued with a confidence that made Sora wonder just what had gone on in his mind while he was trying to regain his bearings after such a devastating attack. Yuya proceeded to create an Attack Lock using Block Spider and a Magic Card known as Mimiclay that duplicated Block Spider's effect and summoned itself as a monster with that effect. That prevented Sawatari from attacking and Sora whistled. __Using two seemingly useless monsters to stop Sawatari's attacks like that. Not bad,__ he thought.

He was only marginally surprised when Sawatari countered through use of a Magic Card that negated the effect of one of Yuya's cards, by negating two Magic Cards he controlled, and he discovered something interesting about Pendulum cards. They were treated as Magic Cards when they were in that special zone.

 _ _Interesting. So Sawatari took advantage of that little fact to negate Yuya's Mimiclay and break the attack lock that Yuya set up,__ Sora realized.

Yuya wasn't done yet, though. As Sora leaned against the wall, almost finished with the lollipop in his hand, Yuya boosted Block Spider's Defense so that it equaled Ultimate Darts Shooter's Attack.

"Sawatari looks too confident," Sora murmured upon seeing Sawatari fake being upset about it and then revealing that he hadn't really been bothered at all. Sora had figured that out and also figured that Sawatari had a plan.

He was right.

Sawatari released Power Darts Shooter and Rocket Darts Shooter to activate their effects; the first increased the Attack of Ultimate Darts Shooter by 600 while the latter allowed Ultimate Darts Shooter to inflict piercing damage.

 _ _If Ultimate Darts Shooter's attack connects, Yuya's done for,__ Sora thought, but hummed, raising an eyebrow when he noticed that Yuya seemed absolutely unfazed by Sawatari's move. In fact, Sora was positive the other boy was smiling right before the darts Ultimate Darts Shooter shot at him crashed into him, and the bridge behind him.

Sora winced when he saw the five individuals that had been on top of the tower fall; the little-red haired girl was screaming while the white-and-blue-haired tried desperately to hold on to her even as he fell. The pink-haired girl lost her grip on the blonde boy but she and the blue-haired boy at her side also fell as the tower fell.

If those two hit the ground then that was likely to be very bad, and Sora was sure that was an understatement.

"I activate Empty Fishing!" Yuya declared, revealing the facedown on his field that Sora only just remembered was there from the previous turn. "With this, I can halve the battle damage and add two cards with their effects negated to my hand! I'm adding Stargazer Magician and Timegazer Magician! Help them, Stargazer and Timegazer!"

The columns of blue light shattered as Stargazer Magician and Timegazer Magician, regaining their full forms now that they were no longer restrained by Sawatari's Magic Card, shot forward.

Timegazer Magician caught the blue-haired boy and the blonde boy while Stargazer Magician managed to catch the pink-haired girl and the white-and-blue haired boy who was cradling the terrified red-haired girl close to him.

"Not bad. Not only did he get his Pendulum cards back, but he also saved his friends," Sora mused and licked his lollipop. "Now can you make a comeback from this, I wonder? I really am quite interested in seeing how this duel ends."

 **. . .**

"Thank you," Yuya said to Stargazer Magician and Timegazer Magician as they gently deposited Yuzu, Kazuki, who was still holding a trembling Ayu in his arms, Tatsuya, and Futoshi on the ground behind him. Ayu's trembles died down and she shyly thanked Stargazer Magician who nodded before vanishing as Yuya turned and caught the cards that an irritated Sawatari threw at him.

He was glad that he had put his faith in the cards he had set the previous turn. He had hoped that Sawatari would do something that would allow him to use Empty Fishing to not only keep himself in the duel, but also rescue his brother and his friends. Having Stargazer Magician and Timegazer Magician back in his hands also made him happy; even if he was still upset that someone as horrible as Sawatari could use Pendulum Summoning, he was glad that he'd gotten them back.

"Did you plan for all of this to happen?" Sawatari demanded.

"No. I just believed," Yuya answered honestly.

Sawatari scowled. "I activate Ultimate Darts Shooter's effect and Special Summon the Released monsters at the end of my turn," he said and Power Darts Shooter and Rocket Darts Shooter returned to the field before Sawatari added, "I'll just crush you next time."

"There's three of them again," Tatsuya gasped.

Yuya smiled at them, not really bothered by the appearance of three powerful monsters on Sawatari's side of the field. "I'm sorry for putting you guys through that."

"Don't worry about it, Yuya," Kazuki said. "I knew you'd get us down from there."

"I always believed, too," Tatsuya said with a firm nod.

"That was so thrilling, it gave me the shivers!" Futoshi exclaimed.

"It's time for a comeback, Yuya," Yuzu said, clenching her fist in determination.

"Yeah, go get him," Ayu said, determination in her eyes.

Kazuki ruffled Ayu's hair. "You okay to get down now?" he asked.

Ayu nodded and Kazuki gently put the small girl on the ground.

Yuya smiled at all of them before facing Sawatari again. "My move," he said and drew a card. He grinned when he saw the card that he'd drawn: Entermate Turn Toad. "The fun has only just begun!"

Futoshi cheered. "It's finally starting," he exclaimed.

"Pendulum! Pendulum!" Yuzu started chanting and it wasn't long before Kazuki, Ayu, Futoshi, and Tatsuya started chanting alongside her while the lights went off.

The lights came back on and Yuya, standing on the bridge, spread his arms out. "Ladies and Gentlemen!" he declared as a spotlight trained on him. "Today, I've prepared a fantastic light show for you. But, first, we can't Pendulum Summon without these." He held up Stargazer Magician and Timegazer Magician in his hands before he declared, "With the Scale 1 Stargazer Magician and the Scale 8 Timegazer Magician, I set the Pendulum Scale!"

In a flash, two columns of blue light appeared on either side of Yuya with Stargazer Magician floating in one with a cursive 1 below him and Timegazer Magician floated in the other with a cursive 8 below him.

"With this, I can now summon multiple monsters from the Levels 2 to 7. _Sway, Pendulum of the soul! Draw an arc of light across the ether! Pendulum Summon! Come forth, my monsters!_ "

In three bursts of light that streaked down from the swaying pendulum that swung between the two columns, three monsters emerged on the field. First was Entermate Turn Toad, a green toad wearing a top hat, next was Entermate Kaleido Scorpion, a scorpion with two shields on which were orange stars on its front appendages, and, appearing last, was Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, the beautiful red dragon clad in white armor with long white horns jutting out of its head and dichromatic eyes, one was green while the other was red.

"Awesome!" Tatsuya exclaimed.

"That was perfect, Big Bro Yuya!" Ayu cheered.

"Nice job, Bro," Kazuki said with a smile.

Sawatari scoffed. "You summoned a Level 6 monster with only 100 Attack and a monster with 0 Attack. You just summoned a bunch of garbage onto the field," he said with a sneer.

"Kaleido Scorpion has a rather ferocious effect," Yuya said, that smile remaining on his lips, and he glanced at his audience as he added, "What's gonna happen next may be bright, but don't close your eyes! You don't want to miss the show! I activate Kaleido Scorpion's effect! Kaleido Light!" Kaleidoscopic images shined in the sky as Kaleido Scorpion shot a beam of light toward Ultimate Darts Shooter, who began to glow blue.

"You see, everyone," Yuya said. "When there is a Pendulum Summoned monster on my opponent's field, this effect activates."

"Ultimate Darts Shooter, right? So what?" Sawatari said.

Yuya placed a hand on Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon's side. "Now I can choose a Pendulum Summoned monster of my own!" A yellow light covered Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon and both Rockets Darts Shooter and Power Darts Shooter lit up before beams of light shot off from them and formed into a blue and red versions of Odd-Eyes. "It's amazing! My selected monster can now attack all monsters you control once each! It's the fabulous Kaleido Mirage!"

Each copy of Odd-Eyes flew into the sky and Ayu gasped.

"It's so pretty," she whispered.

"I'd like to enjoy the view myself but I'm dueling right now. How about I show my flight of Odd-Eyes battle?" Yuya said with a grin and pointed. "Battle! I attack Ultimate Darts Shooter with my red Odd-Eyes!"

As the red Odd-Eyes shot toward Ultimate Darts Shooter, Yuya glanced at his audience. "Now then, what happens when Odd-Eyes battles a Level 5 or higher monster?"

"All battle damage is doubled!" Tatsuya said right away.

"You're correct! So I'll have Sawatari take that double damage!"

"Double?" Sawatari repeated and yelped when the red mirage crashed into Ultimate Darts Shooter, destroying it and reducing Sawatari's Life Points to 3800. The force of the shockwave threw Sawatari off the harbor and into the water.

"Now then, my blue Odd-Eyes attacks Rocket Darts Shooter!" Yuya declared.

Sawatari scrambled out of the water and got quickly to his feet, darting off as the blue mirage crashed into Rocket Darts Shooter.

"And the battle damage is doubled!" Yuya shouted and Sawatari yelped again as he was thrown off his feet and his Life Points fell to 2600.

"Now, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, attack Power Darts Shooter!" Yuya declared, pointing at Power Darts Shooter. " _Spiral Strike Burst_!"

Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon roared and unleashed a powerful blast of red energy that spiraled toward Sawatari's last monster.

"And the damage will be..." Yuya began.

"Doubled!" his brother and friends shouted.

"Of course it is!" Sawatari exclaimed as he dodged the attack, even as his monster exploded and his Life Points fell to 1200.

"You're getting pretty ahead of yourself," he said.

"He still has Life Points left," Futoshi said.

"And Yuya's monsters can't attack anymore," Tatsuya agreed.

"It's all right," Yuzu said.

"Yeah, just look at Yuya's face," Kazuki added.

Yuya was still smiling. He knew he had this duel won. He raised his hands and stated, "Now it's time to introduce the stars of today's show! Block Spider and Entermate Turn Toad!"

"They're just a zero Attack monster and a Defense position monster! How can they do anything to beat me?" Sawatari said with a sneer.

"You're right that they won't be able to attack now," Yuya said, still smiling.

Sawatari sighed in relief.

"But worry not!" Yuya declared, completely ignoring Sawatari's growl of annoyance. "Entermate Turn Toad can turn something around." Turn Toad turned Block Spider's shadow on him and Block Spider was switched to Attack Position while his Attack rose up to 1200. "You see, Turn Toad can switch a monster to Attack Position and its Attack becomes half of its Defense."

"This can't be!" Sawatari exclaimed.

"Everyone, do you know what we will get when the 1200 Attack Block Spider attacks Sawatari's 1200 Life Points directly?" Yuya asked his audience.

"Of course we do," his audience shouted at once.

"Then let's do so. Everyone, let's attack directly with Block Spider!" Block Spider shot forward toward Sawatari as Yuya added with a grin, "And the answer is…?"

"Zero!" The three kids, Kazuki, and Yuzu all cheered at once, watching as Block Spider tackled Sawatari to the ground and knocked out the rest of his Life Points. Spider webs flickered into the sky like fireworks, being the last sight the audience saw before the action field vanished.

Sawatari scrambled to his feet, scowling and glowering at Yuya. "If it's come to this then I'll just take the cards by force! Go and get them!" he shouted to his lackeys.

They started forward when, suddenly, a blur of blue shot between them and they all dropped, unconscious, with Sawatari quickly joining them. Standing in the middle of the group of unconscious students was a short boy with cyan-colored hair in a thick ponytail that spiked upward and bright green eyes. "They were uncool 'till the end," he noted as a lollipop stick rolled on the ground.

Yuya stared, unable to comprehend what just happened for a moment.

"You were really cool back there, though," the boy said with a grin.

"Are you an LDS student, too?" Yuya asked once he pulled himself from his shock.

"I was planning to be, but not now. I'm gonna be your apprentice now," the boy said with a grin.

"Wait, what?" Kazuki said while everyone else just stared at the cyan-haired boy in puzzlement.

"If I'm gonna have a teacher, then I might as well pick someone interesting and Yuya's the most interesting person that I've seen so far since I got here," the boy said.

"Um, did you do that?" Yuzu asked, pointing at the unconscious kids.

"Ah, don't worry. I just knocked 'em out," the boy said with a shrug and then held out a hand. "I'm Sora by the way, Shuinin Sora! It's nice to meet you, Yuya."

Yuya blinked. "Nice to meet you," he said, shaking the boy's hand even as the confusion remained.

 **. . .**

 **Next Time: The Masked Shadows**

 **. . .**

 **A/n what do you think?**

 **Blaze: before you get on my case for starting a new story after I have so many stories unfinished (that is primarily because I'm stuck on all of them, which is irritating), I've been wanting to write an ARC-V story for ages! And, after that rather...lackluster—and, personally speaking, very disappointing—ending to the actual anime, I decided that I would write my own version with many changes.**

 **Yuya: what changes?**

 **Blaze: First of all, I have four very important OCs, with the one that's introduced in this chapter being the deuteragonist (that is second main character) of this story, who each have original decks (decks created by my amazing beta-reader/co-author Misha [EndlessNight025]). You will see one of those decks make its debut in the next chapter.**

 **Bakura: Second of all, unlike in _White Radiance,_ any canon duel in this story that is not changed will not be written out in full; it will be written more like a recap of the duel as is seen in this chapter.**

 **Blaze: Third of all, the history leading up to the splitting of the dimensions is changed and will be explored in this story and in a prequel that I will begin writing once I get through the Synchro Arc of this story.**

 **Bakura: Fourth of all, Blaze will be exploring perspectives quite a bit in this story, meaning that characters who really didn't get much screen-time (coughYutocough), will get more screen-time. She just figures that it will make the story more interesting if it's seen through multiple perspectives, rather than just a few perspectives.**

 **Blaze: Hmm, I can't think of any other notes right now. I have no doubt I'm forgetting something though so, as usual when this happens, I'll just mention it in a later chapter when I do remember it. Anyway, even though this chapter was primarily a recap chapter that introduces the first of my four OCs, and the deuteragonist of this story, I do hope that you enjoyed it. More original stuff is on the way! Reviews, as always, are much appreciated and the next chapter will be out sometime next week...I hope.**


	2. The Masked Shadows

**Hello everyone! It's time for the second chapter of this story, where our first of four OC decks makes its appearance! Misha is extremely excited to see one of her "babies" make its debut and so am I.**

 **But, first, I would like to thank the three _Guest_ reviewers, _BestGuestEver, hlglh, CorinnetheAnime, EndlessNight025,_ and _ZarcEternal_ for reviewing the last chapter! You guys are great.**

 **As for a question: _ZarcEternal_ : At the moment, until we reach the Synchro Arc, this story will, hopefully, be updated once a week, possibly on Wednesdays but we'll see if I can stick to that or not.**

 **As usual, a huge thank you to _EndlessNight025/_ Misha for being an amazing beta-reader who really helped with the duels for this chapter (and this story as a whole).**

 **I hope that you enjoy this chapter and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.**

 **(Update [9/28/2018]: Changed Ice Star Fusion from a Normal Magic to a Quick-Play Magic. Also, took out its second effect as per Misha's decision.)**

 **Turn 2**

 **The Masked Shadows**

On the outskirts of Maiami City, the air warped in a way that caused shadowed land and dark sky to blur together momentarily. Out of the warped air stepped three people; all three of them were dressed in dark clothing that allowed them to blend in well with the surrounding darkness with the only distinguishing mark being the duel disks on their wrists and the red scarf that each of them had tied around their necks, while the tallest had it also around his mouth and the shorter two also had one tied around their upper arms.

The taller of the three stepped away from the warped air as it disappeared. The light of the moon revealed his bluish-black hair with a light-green bang shaped like a wing tucked under a few strands on the left side of his face. Tinted goggles covered his eyes and his dark-blue trench coat swayed in the slight breeze.

"So this is Standard," he said, his voice slightly muffled by the scarf as he scanned the city. He only knew the names of the different dimensions because of the student he'd cornered during the invasion. His companion, the second member of their group, knew they only knew about which dimension they were in because of the program they'd stolen from their enemies' duel disks. That program had also been what allowed them to travel between the dimensions, once they installed it into their own duel disks, and gave the name of the dimension they were traveling too.

"So quiet and peaceful," the second member murmured. His hair swept up and to the right side of his head and was layered in two different colors, black in the back and light purple in the front. His eyes were also hidden by a pair of dark goggles and a black mask covered his mouth and muffled his voice.

"Yeah, nothing like our home," the third member of the group said. His hair was predominately light orange, spiked slightly in the back, with red bangs that covered his left eye and reached the middle of his left cheek. His eyes were also covered by goggles and there was a dark mask around his mouth. Hanging around his neck was a garnet pendant, around which coiled a silver bale.

"It's a big city as well," the bluish-black-haired young man said and turned to his comrades. "I think we may have to split up."

"Don't do anything rash, Shun," the light-purple-and-black haired young man said quietly. "This is not our battlefield."

Shun scoffed and strode off. "Keep Kenshin outta trouble, Yuto."

"Hey," the light-orange-and-red-haired young man, Kenshin, protested. "I'm not prone to getting into trouble...it just finds me." Shun completely ignored him, causing Kenshin to scowl.

Yuto shook his head because he knew that Shun was right. Kenshin had a bad tendency of getting into situations he either couldn't get out of, or had a difficult time getting out of. More often than not, it involved the authorities and Yuto really hoped that wouldn't be the case here. The last thing he wanted was for his friend to get arrested in that dimension, even more so because he doubted anyone would believe that they were from a different dimension.

And, besides, Yuto didn't have any bail money.

"We should stick together for the time being," Yuto said and scanned the city. "When we get into the city, we'll split up."

"All right." Kenshin glanced in the direction Shun had gone. "Will Shun be all right?"

"I can only hope. He's still pretty enraged, so I hope we can find the answers we need on where Ruri is quickly."

"Will his plan work?"

"I don't know. Let's move. We have a few hours before dawn," Yuto said and began walking toward the city.

"Sure," Kenshin said and followed him down the hill and toward the sprawling metropolis in the distance.

 **. . .**

Kazuki yawned as he made his way toward the fireman's pole that he and Yuya typically used to get to the ground floor of their home. A day had gone by since the duel against Sawatari and, while Kazuki was still irritated by what happened, he supposed Sawatari did get his just desserts when he was knocked out by that Sora kid.

"Good morning Kazuki," Yoko said as Kazuki made his way into the kitchen, only to stop when he caught sight of the cyan-haired boy he'd just been thinking about seated at the kitchen table. "I see Yuya's still asleep."

"When's Teacher going to wake up?" Sora asked curiously.

Kazuki blinked. "Why are you here?" he said finally, unsure of how to really respond to the fact that the boy they'd just barely met the day before was in his house. On that note, just how did Sora find their house?

"To meet with Teacher, of course, so he can start teaching me," Sora replied enthusiastically and beamed at Kazuki, adding, "You must be Kazuki. Your elder sister told me that you're Teacher Yuya's little brother and I never did get the chance to introduce myself to you yesterday."

"S...Sister?" Yoko flushed and giggled while Kazuki sweatdropped as he walked to the kitchen table and slid into his seat, taking the plate of food that a flustered Yoko placed in front of him.

"Well, yeah. You're so young and beautiful. I was sure that you were Teacher Yuya and Kazuki's sister," Sora said with a shrug and a bright smile before adding, "I'm sorry if I got it wrong."

"Why thank you. And no, no, it's fine. You're such an honest child," Yoko said with a bright smile before she moved over to the kitchen and went back to work. "Kazuki, would you call your brother? He should be up by now."

"Sure." Kazuki jumped to his feet and moved over to the pole. "Yuya! Breakfast!" he shouted up.

"I'm coming!" Yuya called back.

"He's coming," Kazuki relayed as he returned to the table.

Yuya stepped into the kitchen a few moments later, only to freeze upon seeing Sora. Sora waved his fork in greeting to Yuya. "Good morning, Teacher Yuya!" he greeted and Yuya facefaulted while Kazuki raised an eyebrow.

"You said that earlier, too. Are you really serious about being Yuya's apprentice?"

"Of course I am," Sora said. "Teacher Yuya is an interesting teacher! I'm looking forward to learning from him."

"I never agreed to that!" Yuya exclaimed as he scrambled to his feet. "And what are you even doing here?"

"I just found him wandering outside and I couldn't just leave the poor dear outside, so I invited him in for breakfast," Yoko explained as she handed the syrup to Sora while Yuya sat down at the table, frowning at Sora.

"You really have gotta stop bringing in strays, Mom," Yuya said.

"I don't mind," Sora said as he started to eat before he grinned and added, "And your elder sister's pancakes are delicious."

Yoko flushed again and smiled brightly while Kazuki sweatdropped.

He leaned toward Yuya. "I think Sora's got Mom wrapped around his finger," he murmured.

"Great," Yuya murmured back and started eating his pancakes.

"So when are you going to start teaching me?" Sora asked.

"So he is your apprentice, Yuya?" Yoko wondered.

"No," Yuya denied, a bit harshly before he calmed down and added, "You can't just go around saying things like that, not when I never agreed to that in the first place."

"But it's the truth," Sora said.

"No, it's not."

Kazuki, very amused by the interaction between Sora and Yuya but not saying anything about it, finished off his pancakes. "We should probably head out, Yuya. We don't wanna be late to school," he said as he wiped his mouth.

"Yeah," Yuya said, finishing off his pancakes and giving Sora another irritated look as he stood up.

Sora glanced between them. "So you guys are twins, right?"

"Yeah," Yuya answered.

"You don't look alike. How can that be?"

"We're fraternal twins," Kazuki explained.

"Really? Cool. I think it'd be awesome to have a twin! Hey, maybe both of you could be my teachers," Sora said and beamed at Kazuki. "Do you know how to Pendulum Summon, too?"

Kazuki shook his head. "Nah. I'm teaching myself how to Fusion Summon right now, but Pendulum Summoning is primarily Yuya's," he said. He didn't know how long that would last, given that Sawatari proved that Yuya wasn't the only one who could do it, but that was the case right now.

"Fusion Summoning?" Sora looked interested at that. "Really? Can I see? Maybe we can duel."

"Maybe later. I still haven't got it down yet," Kazuki admitted. He knew how to do it, but wasn't quite confident enough to actually use it just yet. "Besides, we really should get going to school. Yuzu's probably waiting for us, and I don't wanna keep her waiting."

"True," Yuya said. "All right. Let's go. Bye, Mom."

"Have a good day, Yuya, Kazuki. Sora, dear, have some more pancakes," Yoko said and began serving Sora more pancakes while Yuya led the way out of the house with Kazuki just behind him.

 **. . .**

"So Sora's at your house?" Yuzu said in puzzlement as Yuya walked beside her down the sidewalk toward Maiami Second with Kazuki walking on her other side.

"Yup. I honestly don't know how he managed to find our house," Yuya complained, his hands folded behind his head as he walked.

"Five bucks says he followed us home last night," Kazuki said and turned around so that he was walking backwards as he added, "Though it is kinda creepy, whether he followed us or just managed to find our house somehow."

"Tell me about it," Yuya said with a sigh.

"Teacher!" a shout sounded.

"Speak of the Devil..." Kazuki commented ruefully and Yuya, biting back the groan that threatened to escape his lips, turned to find Sora running toward them with a beaming smile on his lips.

"Why are you following me?" Yuya said, irritated.

"You're my teacher," Sora said as he bounced on the balls of his feet. "Wherever you go, I go."

"I didn't agree to teach you," Yuya repeated what he'd already told Sora less than an hour ago, a bit irritated that his words weren't getting through Sora's thick skull.

Sora shook his head. "I am your apprentice. I'm fascinated by your duels, and I really wanna learn how to Pendulum Summon! That was really cool! Please, please show me again and teach me how," he said, bouncing on the balls of his feet again, his eyes shining with excitement.

"Sora, you sure are stubborn," Kazuki noted quietly and Yuya could hear amusement in his voice.

Sora didn't even deny that as he turned to Yuzu. "Hey, why don't you convince Yuya to show me another Pendulum Summon, Yuzu? I'm sure he'll agree if his girlfriend asks him."

Yuzu went red. "G...Girlfriend?" she stammered out while Yuya stared in surprise, unable to comprehend how Sora had jumped to that conclusion.

Sora tilted his head to the side. "Did I get that wrong?"

"Yes!" Yuya and Yuzu exclaimed at the same time.

"Why would I be with a strong, crude girl like her?" Yuya added.

 _Whack._

Yuya yelped and fell to his knees, clutching at his head where Yuzu's harisen had just crashed hard into his skull, while Yuzu stormed off, grumbling under her breath.

Kazuki knelt beside his brother. "You had that coming."

"Are you okay, Teacher?" Sora asked.

Yuya just nursed his head and didn't respond to either Sora's or his brother's words, not entirely sure what he said wrong.

Kazuki patted Yuya's shoulder. "C'mon, let's get going. We're gonna be late if we don't hurry."

"Right," Yuya said, still rubbing his head as he got to his feet and the two brothers darted off.

Sora immediately jogged after them.

"Will you stop following me?!" Yuya exclaimed upon noticing that.

"Nope. You're my teacher, I go wherever you go!" Sora replied with a grin.

Yuya groaned.

Later that day, as Yuya sat in his classroom, finally free of the cyan-haired kid who kept following him everywhere for the time being—though he had this odd feeling he was being watched—he found himself studying his Magician cards. His textbook was open in front of him so, while the teacher thought he was reading along like the rest of the class, he was too lost in his thoughts and thinking about his duel against Sawatari.

Sawatari had managed to use Pendulum Summoning. This summoning method was supposed to be Yuya's alone and yet someone else, and Sawatari at that, had managed to use it.

It wasn't just Sawatari stealing his cards and actually managing to perform a Pendulum Summon that was bothering him. It was also his actions toward Yuzu, Kazuki, and the kids; Yuya found it hard to forget that. Even if he had managed to rescue his friends and his brother, Sawatari had really sunk low to use them against him just to initiate a duel.

Yuya enjoyed dueling though and he believed that dueling was for bringing smiles and happiness to the audience and the opponent. Even if Sawatari forced him into that duel, and endangered his friends and brother, Yuya had still stuck by his belief. He was glad that he'd gotten his friends and brother to smile and cheer along.

Especially Kazuki. While Kazuki did enjoy dueling and was able to smile while dueling or while watching someone duel quite a bit when they were younger, Yuya noticed that had changed in recent years. Now Kazuki spent most of his time studying rather than spending time with Yuya, Yuzu, Gongenzaka, and even the kids at You Show. The times that he did spend with them were normally only when they were actually attending lessons, or having duels, at You Show. More often than not, Yuya found Kazuki in the library or, recently, going over the various manuals and source materials on the summoning method he was trying to teach himself.

He wished that his brother would have more fun and enjoy dueling more, like he had when they were younger.

As it was, his brother rarely smiled anymore so when Yuya could get him to smile, he was happy.

The bell ending class rang, jolting Yuya out of his thoughts and he lifted his head before gathering his stuff together. He gazed around as he left the classroom. He was relieved to see that Sora was nowhere to be seen. _Maybe he gave up,_ he thought as he headed to his next class.

He was wrong.

Kazuki was right. Sora was stubborn. He showed up to cheer for Yuya during P.E. when they were playing soccer. He shocked the living daylights out of Yuya during lunch. He popped up during Yuya's class, by hiding underneath his desk. And, to make matters worse, he even showed up in an adjacent stall in the boy's bathroom.

Yuya was more than a little frustrated by the time he stormed out of Maiami Second once classes ended for the day.

And Kazuki's quiet amusement was not helping. No matter how much Yuya preferred it when his brother smiled and was happy, it was not funny that he basically had a stalker.

He said as much to his brother as they headed toward the sidewalk outside of the school.

"It kinda is. Creepy, yeah, but still kinda funny," Kazuki admitted.

Yuya groaned, burying his face into his hands.

Kazuki patted his shoulder soothingly. "I'm sure things'll look up when we get to You Show."

"I suppose," Yuya said and the two made their way down the sidewalk.

When they reached You Show, Yuya led the way into the lounge, feeling much better than when he was at Maiami Second. Perhaps that was because he'd seen no signs of the stubborn cyan-haired boy who refused to leave him alone. That was enough to raise his spirits. Maybe Sora would finally leave him alone. "Ladies and Gentlemen!" he said as he walked into the room.

Only to see Sora seated next to Futoshi and Ayu.

Yuya face-faulted for the second time that day as his hopes that Sora would leave him alone were dashed. "Oh come on!" he complained.

Kazuki burst out laughing.

"It's not funny!" Yuya exclaimed with a pout at his brother but Kazuki just patted his shoulder while attempting to control his laughter.

"You two are late, Big Bro Yuya, Big Bro Kazuki. Did Big Bro Kazuki get distracted by something shiny again?" Futoshi asked.

Kazuki's laughter abruptly cut off. "One time," he grumbled. "That happened one time and you just can't let it go."

"It happened twice," Yuzu reminded.

"In a week," Principal Shuzo added.

Kazuki sulked.

"You kept your apprentice waiting," Ayu added, turning her gaze away from the sulking Kazuki to frown at Yuya. Yuya resisted the urge to groan.

Shuzo moved over to Yuya's side before he could respond to Ayu's words. "By the way, is Sora enrolling into You Show?" he asked eagerly.

"He is not my apprentice," Yuya said, not really answering the principal's question, but wanting to get that point across.

"C'mon, Yuya. Let's duel," Sora said, jumping to his feet and skipping over to join Yuya, grinning broadly. "I wanna see your Pendulum Summon! It's gonna be so cool!"

"Why should I duel you?"

Sora pouted and immediately flashed Yuya the dreaded puppy dog eyes, which immediately captivated Ayu, Yuzu, and Shuzo, who told Yuya that he should just accept Sora's challenge. Yuya was this close to saying no, but he found it hard to resist the puppy dog eyes. __Damn it. Why can I never resist the puppy dog eyes?__ he thought with a quiet sigh.

"Fine," he said finally and, when Sora grinned, he added, "On one condition. If I win then you have got to stop following me around and calling me teacher."

"Okay, but if I win then I get to follow you around and call you teacher."

"Wait, what?"

"It's only fair."

Yuya blinked but sighed. "Fine…"

Sora beamed and then glanced over Yuya's shoulder and sweatdropped. "Um, Teacher, your brother's still sulking…"

Yuya glanced over at his brother, who was indeed sulking in the corner, and sweatdropped. "He doesn't like to be reminded of his tendency to get distracted by the littlest of things, no matter how often that happens," he admitted. "He'll be fine."

 **. . .**

Yuya and Sora's duel began. At first, it started out on a western-style Action Field called Wild West Duel Town, but Sora thought that too boring. The field was changed to a field that resembled an island filled with structures made of candy and desserts. Sora was over the moon with happiness at the field.

"That's too much sweets for me," Kazuki, who had gotten over the reminder of his absentmindedness, said.

"I like it," Ayu said with a giggle. "But it's making me hungry for cake and candy."

Yuzu chuckled.

The one thing that Kazuki noticed about Sora's monsters, Furnimal Bear and Furnimal Lion, was that they were adorable stuffed animals with angel-like wings that had Yuzu and Ayu gushing at the cuteness of the monsters.

Kazuki sweatdropped. __Why do girls really like cute things?__

It wasn't long before Yuya finally brought out what Sora had been waiting for. Using Stargazer Magician and Timegazer Magician, Yuya Pendulum Summoned Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, Entermate Amenboat, and Entermate Sword Fish before using the Action Card Nanana to increase Odd-Eyes's Attack to 3200.

The resulting attack knocked Sora into a marshmallow bed while knocking his Life Points down to 1800.

"Is he all right?" Ayu asked.

"Was that a bit too hot-blooded?" Shuzo wondered.

"Don't you feel sorry for him?" Yuzu asked.

Yuya glanced at them in puzzlement.

Kazuki even raised an eyebrow. "But this is a duel," he pointed out, not sure why they were reacting that way. It wasn't as if that hasn't happened before; that happened to quite a few duelists whenever they were in Action Duels after all.

Sora began laughing, though, as he sat up and grinned. "That was awesome," he exclaimed and jumped up. "Now it's time to show you the full power of my deck!"

"Wait, you haven't been acting seriously until now?" Yuya said in surprise.

Sora just grinned and drew a card as his turn began. He activated Toy Vendor's effect and Special Summoned the monster he drew, Edge Imp Scissors, a set of sharp scissors with glowing red eyes. Kazuki raised an eyebrow, wondering what he planned on doing now.

"And, now, I activate Fusion!" Sora declared.

Kazuki's eyes widened. _F_ _ _usion?__ He immediately leaned forward, watching as Sora gestured to Edge Imp Scissors and Furnimal Bear. "I fuse Furnimal Bear with Edge Imp Scissors!" he declared and, as a vortex of blue and orange light swirled in the air above him, he began chanting:

" _Claws of the demon and fangs of the beast! Become one and reveal to us your new form! Fusion Summon! Come forth, horrifying beast that shreds all! Level 8! Death-Toy Scissors Bear!_ "

The cuddly pink bear with the angel wings returned as a horrifying creatures with scissors connecting its arms to its body, glowing red eyes, and a pair of scissors dividing its stomach and spreading wide.

Ayu shrank closer to Yuzu. "That's scary," she whispered while the older girl comforted her.

"Fusion Summoning is amazing! I'm getting the shivers!" Futoshi exclaimed.

"Creepy monster, though," Kazuki murmured.

Sora's use of Fusion Summoning went exactly as all those source materials that Kazuki had been reading said it would, one of the ways, anyway: using monsters on the field to summon a Fusion monster from the Extra Deck using a Fusion card, like Fusion.

Or like the Fusion cards that Kazuki had in his deck.

He pulled out his deck and moved away from the viewing platform as he scanned his cards. He knew that the method wasn't as hard as one would think, and he did have the necessary cards to actually pull it off, but he wasn't sure why he wasn't confident enough to try.

He sighed and leaned against the wall. __Once again, it goes back to what Yuya and I were talking about the day Nico Smiley came by to ask Yuya to duel against Strong Ishijima__ _,_ he thought. __Whenever I try to take a step forward, I falter.__

He spread a few of his cards in his hand and studied them, pressing his lips tightly together. __Dad, I want you to be proud of me, but how can I if I keep faltering every time I try to step forward?__ he thought and closed his eyes.

He heard a shout from the arena and lifted his head, moving back to the viewing platform to see that Yuya had been thrown to the ground near a lake of juice while Sora was standing in front of Death-Toy Scissors Bear. It didn't take Kazuki long to figure out what happened. Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon was no longer on Yuya's field.

"Yuya's defeat is guaranteed now. Everyone can understand the frustration of defeat," Shuzo murmured as Yuya lowered his goggles over his eyes.

"Odd-Eyes was also what let Yuya have the courage to keep moving forward," Yuzu added softly. "And it is the symbol of the Pendulum Summoning Yuya created. Yuya..."

Yuya began laughing, startling everyone, except Kazuki who nodded to himself. Their father's advice. Whenever you feel like crying, laugh. No matter how upset Yuya was, the fact that he was still able to laugh told Kazuki that he was going to be just fine.

"I can't enjoy this duel at all if I keep my heart in Defense Position," Yuya said, removing the goggles and getting to his feet while gazing at the Pendulum that swayed between his two Pendulum monsters.

And yet another surprise about Pendulum monsters was revealed. While Death-Toy Scissors Bear attempted to fish Odd-Eyes out to equip him, as per its effect, it couldn't and it was revealed that Pendulum monsters were sent to the Extra Deck when they were destroyed, not the Cemetery.

Sora began laughing. "That is really amazing! Pendulum monsters really are awesome," he exclaimed. "I can't equip Odd-Eyes to Scissors Bear now, so he doesn't get an Attack boost. I end my turn. I'm really excited to see what happens next!"

Yuya grinned as he drew a card. "The fun has just begun," he declared.

 **. . .**

Sora smiled as the duel drew to a close. The duel really was rather fun and finding out the new power of Pendulum monsters was interesting. Even if he did lose, when Swordfish's effect and Entermate Cheermole's effect lowered Death-Toy Scissors Bear's Attack to 1400 and Yuya revealed that Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon doubled the battle damage when it fought against a Level 5 or higher monster, he did have a lot of fun. Yuya was definitely a cool duelist and Sora knew that hanging out with him during his time in the Standard Dimension was definitely going to make his mission fun and interesting.

The Action Field vanished and Sora watched as Yuya joined him. "Remember our promise," he said. "Since I won, I'm not making you my apprentice."

Sora grinned as he jumped to his feet. "That duel was awesome though, Yuya!"

"Wait, what?" Yuya said in puzzlement.

Sora chuckled. "Since I can't be your apprentice anymore, I'm just gonna be your friend, Yuya."

"But that wasn't..." Yuya began.

"Of course you're friends now," Principal Hiiragi said as he, Yuzu, Ayu, Futoshi, Tatsuya, and Kazuki made their way into the arena to join the two duelists. "All students at You Show are equal after all, and we're all friends.. Sora, will you join You Show?"

"You Show is definitely way more interesting than LDS, so yeah, I will," Sora said.

"Yes!" Shuzo cheered and bolted.

"Where's he going?" Sora wondered in puzzlement.

"To get your enrollment paperwork," Kazuki said.

Yuya let loose a sigh. "By the way, where did you learn how to Fusion Summon? Did you teach yourself like Kazuki's doing?" he said.

Sora shook his head. He was a bit impressed that a duelist from Standard was actually teaching himself how to Fusion Summon. He knew that all three summoning methods existed in Standard but, considering how puzzled everyone at You Show—except Kazuki—had looked when he'd summoned Scissors Bear, he figured that the students at You Show weren't taught Fusion Summoning. It made him wonder why Kazuki was teaching himself rather than just attending LDS, which actually taught that method.

"Nope. Fusion Summons are pretty normal where I come from," Sora said with a shrug.

"Where's that?"

"Ah, don't worry 'bout it," Sora dismissed. "Since we're friends now, it doesn't matter."

"That's not a good reason. And I never approved of being your friend."

Sora placed a hand on Yuya's shoulder. "It's a pleasure to meet you, friend."

"You're getting ahead of yourself again," Yuya said, irritated.

Sora just laughed. "I am excited to duel you again," he said and turned to Kazuki while Yuya protested against the cyan-haired boy's words. "By the way, Kazuki, I'm curious. You're teaching yourself how to Fusion Summon, right? Why not just attend LDS's Fusion courses?"

"I...don't really feel comfortable around too many people, even if I was, I can't really afford it anyway," Kazuki admitted. "And, besides, You Show's my dad's school. No matter my personal feelings towards Dad, I will always support this school and Dad's dueling style."

"Your personal feelings?" Sora echoed.

"Don't ask," Yuya said while Kazuki's face closed off and he looked away. "Just...don't."

Sora realized that whatever these personal feeling were, they were none of his business, and decided to change the subject. "I am quite curious if you're just as big of an entertainer as Yuya! Can we have a duel? And Teacher can watch us," he said eagerly. Now he was just teasing Yuya and he had to grin at the irritated look on Yuya's face.

"I thought we agreed that you wouldn't call me that again," Yuya exclaimed.

"We did. I just wanted to see your reaction," Sora admitted with a laugh.

Yuya groaned.

"Can we?" Sora added once he got his laughter under control. He really did want to see how good of a duelist who taught himself how to Fusion Summon was, rather than learning from a professor in a class. He didn't know if it would be any different, except inferior to Academia's Fusion Summoning, but it would be interesting to see. Besides, he was quite curious if Kazuki was just as much an entertainer as Yuya was. Considering Kazuki seemed to be a bit more withdrawn and quiet than his brother, Sora wasn't so sure.

"Maybe later," Kazuki said.

"That's what you said the last time I asked," Sora protested with a pout.

Yuya chuckled. "Best be careful, Kazuki. He might start following you around now," he teased.

"Wonderful. If you wanna duel, we can, but not today."

"Okay. I can agree to that," Sora said with a grin.

 **. . .**

A few days after Sora joined You Show found Kazuki and Sora walking around central park. It was still about half an hour before lessons at You Show were to start and Sora had met up with Kazuki when he was leaving Maiami Second late again. At first, Kazuki had asked Sora if he was following him, but the younger boy insisted that wasn't it.

 _"Yuya said that you were staying behind for a little while when I asked when I met them here after school let out, so I decided to stay so you had someone to talk on the walk to You Show," Sora had told him._

There wasn't much talking involved, truth be told. Sora did ask a few questions about Maiami City and about You Show that weren't answered by the principal when he enrolled, but that was the extent of their conversation. Kazuki always had a hard time starting conversations; he just got shy when he tried to speak to someone new and could only speak to them if they talked to him first, which didn't happen often since he often kept himself away from others. You Show was the only exception and, even then, he still kept far quieter than his brother, Yuzu, and the kids.

"This is a pretty nice city, from what I've seen so far. It's so peaceful," Sora commented, his arms swinging at his side as they made their way across the grass-covered park.

"Is the city you come from not nice?" Kazuki asked as he stopped to allow a couple walking a small brown-and-white dog to walk past.

"Well, I guess it is, kinda," Sora said with a shrug, folding his hands behind his head and looking up at the sky. "Just nothing like this. But I like it!" He turned his head to gaze at Kazuki and added, "By the way, isn't You Show in the opposite direction of this park?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Why are we not heading to You Show then?"

Kazuki shrugged. He didn't know. He'd just started walking after he left Maiami Second and didn't really pay attention to where he was going. He'd been too distracted by his thoughts, which was a common flaw that irritated Yuzu to no end, since it often meant he was late arriving at You Show. "I dunno. I was just walking."

Sora chuckled. "You got distracted, didn't you?" he teased.

Kazuki pouted, primarily because he couldn't deny it. He had been distracted.

"Was it something shiny that you spotted in this direction?" Sora continued his teasing, his green eyes alit with amusement and his lips pulled back in a teasing grin.

"It was not," Kazuki said a bit irritably—was no one going to let the fact that he's gotten distracted by shiny things before go?—and gazed around the park, adding, "I'm just thinking."

"Oh. Something on your mind?" Sora studied him and added, "You know, since Yuya and I are friends, that means we're friends, too! If you wanna talk, you can talk to me."

Kazuki stuffed his hands into the pockets of his Maiami Second uniform jacket and started walking again, and Sora fell into step beside him. "I want to make Dad proud of me," Kazuki said finally, quietly, not sure why he started talking but he did, "and yet every time I try to take a step toward my goal, something stops me, and I don't know what."

"Sounds to me like you're scared," Sora mused. "From what I've heard 'bout your dad from the principal, he was a legend and that's some pretty big footsteps to follow in. Maybe, you're scared you're gonna fail to reach your goal and make your dad proud and so you keep stopping yourself from taking that initial step."

"Maybe."

"But you've gotta take that first step, Kazuki," Sora added with determination. "If you don't, you're never gonna get stronger and you're never gonna be the duelist your dad can be proud of."

Sora suddenly beamed and he said, "I know what! We can duel! You can show me what you've learned about Fusion Summoning and I can help ya figure out anything you've missed. If you master Fusion Summoning then that'll be a big step toward your goal, don't ya think?"

Kazuki blinked. "You really think so?"

"I know so. Your goal's to be a duelist your dad can be proud of, right?" When Kazuki nodded, Sora went on, "Then getting stronger and becoming more skilled as a duelist can only help you fulfill your goal. And learning Fusion Summoning can certainly help you get stronger. I know how to Fusion Summon really well and I can help you. What do you say?"

Kazuki studied the cyan-haired boy. "You'd really teach me?"

"Sure. Why not? We're friends, right?"

"I...guess." Kazuki didn't quite get how Sora translated him being Yuya's friend to him being Kazuki's. It didn't help that he's never really had many friends before, Yuzu and Gongenzaka were the only ones, but they were more Yuya's friends than his.

"All right!" Sora said cheerfully.

"Yo, Sakaki! You're open!" a new voice sounded, causing Sora and Kazuki to turn around. The older boy barely had enough time to block the path of a kendo shinai aimed directly for his head while Sora jumped back reflexively.

"Whoa! What the heck?" he yelped, turning towards Kazuki's attacker. It was a girl with long lavender-purple hair dressed in the Maiami Second uniform with an LDS pin resting on the collar of her jacket. Her light gray eyes glinted with amusement.

"Oh? Looks like the little turtle's gotten a bit faster since we last met," she mused with a smirk. "About time!"

"Nice to see you too, Asakura," Kazuki muttered, rolling his eyes.

"You know this girl?" Sora wondered.

"Yeah. Asakura Himari. I haven't seen her in awhile, but she goes to my school. We've...well, I can't exactly say we're friends but…"

"We're rivals," the girl said nonchalantly as she sheathed her wooden sword. "Even if Sakaki here hasn't been able to beat me yet."

Sora tilted his head to the side and turned to Kazuki. "Was this before or after you taught yourself Fusion Summoning?"

"Fusion Summoning?" Asakura's eyes lit up with anticipation. "This I have to see! Sakaki. You. Me. Duel. Now!"

"As usual, you're blunt and straight to the point," Kazuki said in amusement.

"Why don't you duel her?" Sora suggested. "It'd be a good way to show me how much you've taught yourself in Fusion Summoning. And she clearly wants to see how strong you've gotten as a duelist."

"You've got that right. Besides, I haven't had a decent match in a while, and I'm bored," Asakura said and moved backwards a few paces before her duel disk, edged in pink, activated. "Let's do this."

Kazuki hesitated, but nodded. Sora was right. He had to take that initial step forward if he wanted to work toward making his brother and father proud of him. "All right," he said and activated his own purple edged duel disk blade while Sora moved off to the side.

"Duel," they declared.

 **Kazuki: 4000 | Asakura: 4000**

"I'll start things off!" Asakura announced and picked a card in her hand. "I summon Shiranui Spiritmaster."

Stepping onto the field, out of a burst of fire, came a white-skinned kannushi dressed in red robes (4/1500/0).

"And when Spiritmaster is Normal Summoned, I can use its effect to Special Summon one Shiranui monster from my hand or Cemetery, but it'll be banished when it leaves the field. I Special Summon the Tuner monster Shiranui Spectralsword," Asakura added, placing the card on her duel disk and, in a burst of blue fire, a glowing katana with blue flames floated onto the field, appearing to be wielded by the spirit of a lavender-haired warrior (2/800/0).

"Tuner? So you're going to Synchro Summon?" Kazuki said.

"Yup," Asakura said with a grin. "I tune my Level 4 Shiranui Spiritmaster with my Level 2 Tuner Shiranui Spectralsword!"

As Spectralsword morphed into two tuning rings while Spiritmaster morphed into four stars, Asakura chanted, " _Wielding the blades of the spirits, descend upon this battlefield and unleash your divine power to eradicate your enemy! Synchro Summon! Come forth! Level 6! Blade God – Shiranui!_ "

Out of the burst of light that emerged from the tuning circles came a black-haired samurai dressed in red with the spirit of Spectralsword hovering over him while its sword was surrounded by pale blue mist (6/2500/0).

"Since it left the field, Spectralsword is banished," Asakura added before inserting two cards into her duel disk. "I place two cards facedown, and that's it for me. Let's see what you've got. I really wanna see if you were capable of teaching yourself how to Fusion Summon."

"So am I," Sora said while removing a lollipop from his pocket, unwrapping it, and sticking it into his mouth.

"My turn. I draw," Kazuki said and drew a card. He already had the necessary materials in his hand to perform a Fusion Summon, from what he's read anyway, now he just had to do it. He may have practiced a bit on his ow, but this was his first time using it in an actual duel. He picked the specific card in his hand and inserted it. "I activate Ice Star Fusion."

Sora grinned. "A Fusion Summon right off the bat, eh? You sure this is your first time using this summoning method?"

"Technically, yeah," Kazuki said and held up two cards. "I fuse Ice Star Gemini and Ice Star Capricornus in my hand!" As a vortex of blues appeared above his head, two monsters also materialized on the field: Ice Star Gemini were two small identical boys dressed in dark-blue tunics dusted with stardust while Ice Star Capricornus was a dark-blue sea goat speckled with tiny silver stars. They were then swallowed by the spinning vortex as Kazuki chanted:

" _Two signs of the zodiac, now become one in_ _a_ _vortex of ice and snow and reveal to us your new form! Fusion Summon! Come forth, Level 6! The vain queen of the stars! Interstellar Ice Star Cassiopeia!_ "

In a burst of light, a beautiful blonde woman with pale skin seated upon a throne appeared on the field with chains attaching her to the throne. She was dressed in Greek-style robes that were dark blue and dusted with stardust. In her hand, she held a silver mirror (6/2500/1900).

"Not bad," Sora noted.

"Thanks. And, since it was Fusion Summoned, Cassiopeia's effect activates, but I chain it with the effects of Gemini and Capricornus," Kazuki added. "First, since Capricornus was sent to the Cemetery by a card effect, I can target one Magic Card in my Cemetery and add it to my hand, and I choose Ice Star Fusion."

The aforementioned card returned to his hand.

"Next, since Gemini was sent to the Cemetery by a card effect as well, its effect lets me target one Ice Star monster I control and allow it to make a second attack during each Battle Phase this turn. I pick Cassiopeia. Finally, Cassiopeia's effect increases the Attack of all Ice Star monsters I currently control by 500."

Cassiopeia was surrounded by an aura of light as her power increased (2500-3000).

"Next, I equip Ice Star Saber to Cassiopeia, increasing her Attack by 1000," Kazuki added, inserting another card into his duel disk and the mirror in Cassiopeia's hand was replaced by a silver-hilted blade (3000-4000).

"Battle! Cassiopeia, attack Blade God – Shiranui! Ice Saber Slash!" Kazuki ordered and Cassiopeia started forward.

"I activate my facedown! Shiranui Style Searing Slash!" Asakura announced as her reverse card flipped up. "With this, I can banish Blade God until the End Phase and then target Cassiopeia and have her lose Attack equal to the original Attack of the monster I just banished."

The undead samurai then vanished from the field and the spirit that was attached to him floated through Cassiopeia before disappearing as well, causing the vain queen to weaken (4000-1500).

"And since it was banished, Blade God's effect makes your queen lose another 500 Attack Points," Asakura added with a grin as Cassiopeia weakened further (1500-1000).

"Even so, I'm still going through with my attack and, due to Gemini's effect, Cassiopeia can attack twice this Battle Phase," Kazuki said.

Cassiopeia slashed at Asakura with her saber twice, though the girl parried it with her wooden sword both times despite it doing nothing to cancel out the damage.

 ** **Kazuki: 4000 |**** ** **Asakura 2000****

"I set two cards and end my turn," Kazuki concluded as two vertical cards appeared before him.

"Due to the effect of Shiranui Style Searing Slash, Blade God – Shiranui now returns to my field, but before that, I activate my other facedown, Premature Return," Asakura announced. "I can banish one card from my hand to Special Summon one of my banished monsters in face-down Defense Position, and I choose Shiranui Spectralsword."

A vertical facedown card that was her tuner monster appeared on the field right before Blade God returned as well.

"Also, since the card I just banished from my hand was Shiranui Shrinemaiden, her effect now activates, allowing me to target one of your Set cards and destroy it."

The ghostly image of a dark-haired miko dressed in red and white briefly appeared before blowing away Kazuki's left facedown card with a wave of her gohei.

"And now it's my turn again. I draw!" Asakura drew a card and added it to her hand before saying, "I Flip Summon Shiranui Spectralsword."

The possessed katana revealed itself once more (2/800/0).

"I tune my Level 6 Blade God with my Level 2 Spectralsword."

Spectralsword morphed into two tuning rings as Blade God morphed into six stars that the tuning rings encircled.

" _Wielder of the power of the spirits, shine as the great leader who shall achieve victory upon this battlefield! Synchro Summon! Come forth, Level 8! War God – Shiranui!_ " Asakura chanted as, out of the burst of light, came a lavender-haired shogun dressed in a dark purple kimono and white pants with a red cloak around his shoulders and a sword surrounded by blue fire held in his hand (8/3000/0).

"That's a strong monster," Sora whistled.

"And it has an even stronger effect," Asakura added with a grin. "When it's Special Summoned, I can banish one Undead-Type monster in my Cemetery—like Blade God – Shiranui—and increase War God's Attack by Blade God's Attack, which is 2500."

The spirit of the Blade God appeared on the field and coiled around War God, joining the spirit of Spectralsword that was floating above War God as the monster's power increased (3000-5500).

"5500? Looks like Kazuki might be in trouble," Sora commented as Asakura pointed to Cassiopeia.

"Also, since Blade God was banished, your monster loses 500 more Attack Points."

The spirit of the undead samurai appeared once more, zapping away even more of Cassiopeia's strength (1000-500).

"Battle! War God - Shiranui, attack Cassiopeia and end this!" she ordered.

"I won't let you. Reverse card, open! Glacial Block! This negates your monster's attack and inflicts 500 damage to you for each face-up Ice Star monster I control," Kazuki said, revealing his face-down. An outward curving wall of ice then morphed around Cassiopeia, catching the War God's attack and forcing it to back down while a sphere of ice shot over War God's head to crash into Asakura.

 ** **Kazuki: 4000 | Asakura: 1500****

Asakura let loose a frustrated breath. "Well, that plan went up in smoke. I set a card and end my turn. And since my turn's over, my War God's effect also ends," she said and a vertical facedown appeared at her feet while War God's Attack returned to normal (5500-3000).

"I draw," Kazuki said and drew a card before smiling and picking the other card in his hand. "I activate Ice Star Fusion one more time."

"A second Fusion Summon? Are you sure you haven't used this summoning method before?" Sora questioned.

"I'm sure," Kazuki said.

"I don't believe it."

Kazuki decided not to respond to that. "I fuse Interstellar Ice Star Cassiopeia with Ice Star Cancer in my hand." As the vortex once again, Cassiopeia and a dark-blue crab dusted by stardust appeared before swirling into the vortex.

Kazuki chanted, " _Vain queen of the stars, become one with the crab of the zodiac in a vortex of ice and snow and reveal to us your new form! Fusion Summon! Come forth, Level 7! Interstellar Ice Star Cepheus!_ "

Out of the vortex of blues emerged a warrior clad in Greek robes with a crown resting on his head and a scepter held in his hand (7/2600/2000).

"Hoh?" Asakura raised an eyebrow. "You've definitely gotten better since we last dueled, but your monster's not strong enough to take out my War God."

"Maybe not yet, but Cepheus's effect activates when it's Fusion Summoned, and the effects of Cassiopeia and Cancer also activate. First, since Cancer was sent to the Cemetery by a card effect, I can target one Ice Star monster I control and, until the end of your next turn, it can't be destroyed by card effects, and I choose Cepheus."

A protective aura surrounded Cepheus.

"Next, since Cassiopeia was sent to the Cemetery by a card effect, I can target one card the field and destroy it. I'll go with your set card."

Asakura's face-down, which was briefly revealed to be Reject Reborn, was covered in a wave of ice before shattering to pieces.

"Finally, Cepheus's effect makes all monsters you currently control lose 500 Attack."

Cepheus waved his scepter and a wave of ice washed over the War God, weakening him (3000-2500).

"Also, since Ice Star Saber was destroyed, you are now dealt 500 points of damage."

A saber of ice shot out of the ground and crashed into Asakura's duel disk.

 ** **Kazuki: 4000 | Asakura: 1000****

"Even so, I'm still in this," Asakura said. "I can still turn this around on my next turn."

"That's what you think," Kazuki muttered, and before a puzzled Asakura could ask him what he meant, he added, "Battle! Interstellar Ice Star Cepheus, attack War God – Shiranui! Royal Ice Slash!"

Cepheus shot forward and crashed his scepter into the War God, and it shattered.

 ** **Kazuki: 4000 | Asakura: 900****

"I activate War God – Shiranui's effect! When he's destroyed by battle and sent to the Cemetery, I can return one of my banished Undead monsters with zero Defense to my Cemetery. I choose Blade God – Shiranui!" Asakura declared.

"Even so, this duel's over. Cepheus's effect activates. When it destroys a monster by battle and sends it to the Cemetery, you are inflicted with damage equal to that destroyed monster's Attack," Kazuki revealed.

"What?" Asakura exclaimed and shielded herself with a yelp as an explosion of ice erupted in front of her, knocking her to the ground and wiping out the rest of her Life Points.

 ** **Kazuki: 4000 W | Asakura: 0****

Kazuki deactivated his duel disk and walked over to join Asakura as she sat up with a huff.  
"Well, I lost. You've certainly gotten stronger since we last dueled. Guess my winning streak against you is broken now," she said.

"It was still a fun duel," Kazuki said, holding out a hand toward the lavender-haired girl.

She huffed again but took the hand and pulled herself to her feet. "Just 'cause you won doesn't mean that you'll win again," she said and smirked before adding, "Farewell, Sakaki Kazuki. Let's duel again sometime soon."

"Anytime, Asakura," Kazuki said and watched as the girl dashed out of the park.

"That was certainly an interesting duel, and you seem to have Fusion Summoning down rather well," Sora said with a grin.

"Yeah." Kazuki felt his lips quirk into a slight half-smile at the feeling of accomplishment. After all that practice, he'd finally managed to test out what he'd learned in an actual duel and he'd done it. He couldn't help but be happy by that accomplishment.

However, that happiness faded as the hairs on the back of Kazuki's neck shot up and he turned around, a small frown on his lips because he was positive someone was watching them. And why did they feel hostile? Or was that just Kazuki's imagination?

He didn't know but, as he looked around, he caught sight of the time on one of the billboards nearby and swore, all thoughts on the person watching him vanishing.

"What is it?" Sora asked.

"We're late. We were supposed to be at You Show two hours ago!" Kazuki groaned and bolted out of the park. __Yuzu is going to be so mad,__ he thought as he ran, with Sora running right behind him.

 **. . .**

Kenshin watched the white-haired boy run off behind the cyan-haired boy before turning to gaze at the park as the people who were gathered started to disperse. He hadn't been able to see the majority of the duel, having arrived when the duel was practically over, but he had been there long enough to see the use of Fusion Summoning.

He knew that Standard utilized all three summoning methods, which was one of the first things that he'd found out when he entered the city, but that didn't stop the feelings of rage and hostility when he saw the use of Fusion Summoning. He knew that the kid had nothing to do with what happened to his Homeland, but that didn't stop him from feeling that way; it wasn't directed at the kid, it was directed at them.

At Academia.

Kenshin turned around, drawing the hood of his dark cloak further over his face, and made his way toward the edge of the park as he thought about something else. He hadn't seen the boy well enough to make out much about his appearance beyond the messy white hair, but it was odd that the kid seemed oddly familiar.

He shook his head. __You're tired, you're just imagining things__ _,_ he thought and left the park, heading down the street and toward the abandoned building that he and Yuto were using as their temporary hideout. There was no word on where Shun had ended up, but Yuto was searching around LDS Tower so Kenshin knew he wouldn't be back for a while.

He turned his light orange gaze to the sky above his head, watching as thin wisps of clouds passed the pale blue surface. So different from Heartland. Maiami City was so full of life, so full of happiness, so full of bright smiles; it was what Heartland had once been like before Academia arrived.

It wasn't the same as Heartland, no, but that didn't stop a pang of homesickness appear within Kenshin. His home was in ruins because of Academia. His adopted parents were gone. His adopted siblings were gone. He'd lost friends. He'd lost comrades.

Men, women, children; all of them were gone.

Kenshin gritted his teeth and slammed his fist into the tree he'd come to a stop beside, feeling tears leak out of his eyes. He hated it. He hated what Academia had done but, even more so, he hated that he'd been so helpless to do anything about it. He had tried, he really had, and while he had saved some people, the number of people that he wasn't able to save greatly outnumbered the number of people he had.

He rested his forehead against the tree trunk, closing his eyes and taking a few deep breaths.

 _ _Calm down. Now's not the time to go down memory lane,__ he told himself as he opened his eyes.

"Mister, are you okay?" A soft voice asked and Kenshin turned to find a small girl standing next to him, looking up at him with concerned eyes.

The small girl was overlapped with the image of another small girl whose wide, terrified eyes had been the last thing that Kenshin had seen before he was blinded by bright purple light.

He jerked his head away, scowling inwardly and shoving the memory out of his mind. That incident had happened not long ago, around the time that he, Yuto, and Shun had decided to journey to Standard for answers, and had been forced to deal with another attack. There had been no survivors in that attack and Kenshin was still haunted by the memory of it.

He closed his eyes. "I'm okay," he said, hoping his voice didn't sound strained, before he started walking again.

He had to keep moving and working; find information, work toward fulfilling Shun's plan, find out where Ruri was, and then return to Heartland and protect those that were left.

But, for now, he would return to the hideout and see if Yuto had found out anything.

 **. . .**

Yuzu walked down the sidewalk, carrying a bag of ice cream in her hands and scowling. She wasn't sure why she'd been drafted into going to the store for ice cream, but she had. She firmly believed that if Yuya, Sora, and the others wanted ice cream then they should have gotten it themselves.

It has been a few days since Sora joined You Show, and he had quickly adjusted to the new school and everyone had warmed up to him. Yuzu would admit that Sora fit in with everyone at You Show, even if Yuya still got a bit irritated with him—though that could be because Sora had taken to dropping by Yuya and Kazuki's house every morning for breakfast—and she was glad that Sora was adjusting.

"Though why couldn't he have helped carry all of this back to the school?" Yuzu complained out loud while Ayu, the second member of their little ice cream gathering group, giggled.

"On that note, how did I get dragged into this?" Kazuki, the third member of their little ice cream gathering group, said in puzzlement.

Yuzu gave the white-and-blue-haired boy a look. "You were two hours late yesterday and didn't even let any of us know where you were. That's why you got drafted," she said.

"Sora said that you got distracted," Ayu said and giggled. "Was it something shiny?"

"Are you ever gonna let that go?" Kazuki protested with a pout before adding, "And, no, I just got lost in my thoughts. But at least I got Fusion Summoning down."

"Yuya was really proud of you, and so am I," Yuzu said with a faint smile and chuckled at the embarrassed flush that covered Kazuki's cheeks and he coughed, looking away.

"Thanks," he murmured.

"At least we got ice cream for everyone. Big Sis Yuzu, you're really nice," Ayu said with a beaming smile.

Yuzu smiled back at her but paused when she spotted two familiar people walking on top of the bank they were walking along. She frowned as she recognized them instantly as two of Sawatari Shingo's lackeys who'd captured her, the kids, and Kazuki a few days earlier.

"Shh, be quiet, Ayu," she whispered to Ayu, who looked puzzled but nodded.

Kazuki also glanced in the direction Yuzu was looking and frowned. "Those two..." he murmured quietly.

"Seems like Sawatari has a plan," one of the lackeys said. "He really wants to defeat Sakaki Yuya and has come up with a plan to do that."

Yuzu and Ayu gasped while Kazuki narrowed his eyes, his free hand clenching into a fist.

"Yeah. He said he was gonna attack Sakaki Yuya's weak points and the result is probably gonna be devastating," the second lackey said.

"That bastard..." Kazuki murmured and, flushing, adding quickly, "Erm, sorry. Ayu, please don't repeat that."

Ayu glanced at him but nodded. "Okay," she said quietly and glanced at the two lackeys, her brow furrowed in worry, while Yuzu decided not to react to Kazuki cursing in front of Ayu because he had apologized afterwards and she was too preoccupied with Sawatari's lackeys' words.

She started after the two lackeys, causing Ayu and Kazuki to exchange glances before they jogged after her.

"Where are you going, Yuzu?" Kazuki said.

"After those two. That little coward...I wanna give that thousandth-rate duelist a piece of my mind," Yuzu said firmly.

"I see. Save a piece of him for me. If he's really threatening my brother like this..." Kazuki trailed off but Yuzu knew that he was angry. She didn't blame him; she was angry herself and they both had reason to be. Yuya was her childhood friend and his brother.

They neared the warehouse district and Yuzu slowed down to a walk as she spotted Sawatari's lackeys entering a warehouse that was still a ways away. Once they were out of sight, she began to jog across the ground toward warehouse 52.

 **. . .**

Yuto studied the tower that rose up in the distance, standing in the shadows on the roof of warehouse 53, and pressed his lips together. That was LDS Tower, where the person he, Shun, and Kenshin were after was, and Yuto briefly wondering if their plan would work. Shun was positive that it would, and Kenshin seemed to believe it would work too, but Yuto wasn't so sure.

He heard a noise behind him. "You found me," he commented.

"I figured you'd be in this area when you asked me to meet you here," Kenshin's voice said and Yuto turned to find his friend standing a few feet behind his, his gaze fixed on the tower. "Find out anything today?"

"Not much. There's still no word from Shun, either. Anything on your end?" Yuto asked.

"Nope. I did get accused of stealing, though. The police let me go, but that still sucked," Kenshin grumbled.

Yuto raised an eyebrow. He has only been here a few days and he had already gotten into trouble with this dimension's police force? "Really, Kenshin?"

"I didn't steal anything. They just thought I did 'cause of how I was dressed. They ended up finding the real culprit not long after they let me go, though. The idiot didn't look a thing like me…"

Yuto sighed. "What part of 'lay low' did you not get, Kenshin?" he chided.

"I was laying low! It's not my fault they thought me some punk-ass thief just 'cause I dress like this," Kenshin protested.

 _ _And you still say you aren't prone to getting into trouble,__ Yuto thought with a sweatdrop. "Anyway, what I did find out is that the students at LDS all wear the same pin as the one we found when Ruri was kidnapped," he said, holding up the pin between his index and middle finger.

"So they might have something to do with what happened to Ruri and might have a connection to Academia?" Kenshin asked.

"I believe they may, but I will need to speak to an LDS student to find out for sure," Yuto said and then turned his head toward the ocean, pausing when he caught sight of someone that caused him to freeze.

Standing outside of the doors leading into warehouse 52 was a girl...

...with the same face as Ruri.

"What are you doing here?" Yuto whispered in puzzlement.

"Who?" Kenshin turned as well and his eyes widened. "R...Ruri?"

"I'm not sure. If she's here, did she escape somehow?" Yuto said and then his eyes widened when he caught sight of the person joining the girl at the warehouse. It was a boy and…

"That guy has the same face as me!" Kenshin exclaimed and Yuto grabbed him, covering his mouth and yanking him down as he crouched down.

"Shh. Do you want to alert them to the fact that we're here?" he whispered and peered over the edge of the wall, watching as the girl and boy glanced in their direction before they exchanged puzzled glances.

Kenshin pushed Yuto's hand away and peered over the wall as well as the girl and boy returned their attention to the warehouse doors. "Why does that guy have the same face as me?" he said, though he kept his voice quiet.

"I don't know," Yuto murmured, beyond puzzled. He didn't know why that boy looked almost exactly like one of his best friends. If Kenshin hadn't been sitting right beside him then, at first glance at the boy's face, Yuto might have mistaken that other boy as Kenshin. __What is Ruri doing here and why does that boy look like Kenshin?__ he thought.

"What do we do?" Kenshin murmured, watching as the girl pushed open the warehouse doors and strode into it with the boy right behind him.

"I'm going after her," Yuto said and stood up, walking over to the edge of the warehouse roof and, using the fire escape, got down. He was only marginally surprised when Kenshin followed him but gave him a questioning glance anyway.

"What? That guy looks a hell of a lot like me and I'm really curious about why."

Yuto sighed but smiled. The invasion may have caused Yuto and his two best friends to change in various ways, and severely at that in some ways, but there were some things that would always remain the same, and Kenshin's natural curiosity was one of those things.

"Just don't say too much about our mission or anything related to Heartland. I don't want to drag anymore innocents into this fight. Like I told Shun, this isn't our battlefield," Yuto murmured.

"Yeah, yeah. I know," said Kenshin. "I'll try not to reveal myself too 'cause that'll just cause a lot of confusion."

The two of them darted toward the warehouse and Yuto kicked the door open hard enough to cause whoever was behind the door to scream and be thrown off his feet. Yuto led the way into the warehouse, Ruri, the boy who shared Kenshin's face, and the four others who each had a pin on the collar of their jackets that indicated they were students at LDS, were standing near the heart of the warehouse.

"Who are you?" the kid with short light brown and blonde hair styled in layers said, narrowing his grayish-blue eyes.

"Stay back," Yuto said as he brushed past Ruri.

"What are you doing?" she demanded, giving him an irritated look that he ignored.

"Sawatari's got the right question, too. Who are you?" the boy who looked like Kenshin said in puzzlement. He was standing off to the side; he, too, was ignored as Yuto fixed his gaze on the pin on the boy's, Sawatari's apparently, jacket collar.

"Are you supposed to be some sort of shining knight in armor? Guess someone stepped up and stole your job, eh, Kazuki?" Sawatari said with a sneer at the white-and-blue-haired boy, who glared at him.

"Shut up," he said. "It's not as if Yuzu needs a knight. She's perfectly capable of taking care of herself, though I would certainly love to punch you right now. I still haven't forgiven you for that little stunt you pulled at Center Court."

 _ _Yuzu...__ Yuto turned to the girl and studied her, realizing that he had been so focused on the girl's face that he hadn't noticed that she couldn't be Ruri. Her eyes were blue and her hair was pink with lighter strands of pink framing her face, while Ruri's eyes were pink and her hair was dark purple and much longer.

 _ _Still, I don't want to get an innocent involved in this,__ he thought and turned his gaze back to Sawatari. He wasn't just referring to the girl who looked like Ruri, but also the boy who looked like Kenshin.

"You're still sore about that? Gees, get over it," Sawatari said with a huff.

"And you, clearly, have no decency, you thousandth-rate duelist," the white-and-blue-haired boy snapped.

"Stop calling me a thousandth-rate duelist!" Sawatari shouted.

"Ten-thousandth-rate duelist," Yuzu shot back.

Sawatari scowled. "That's it," he hissed. "Back off, you masked weirdo. Hiiragi wants a duel, so she'll get one."

"If you wish to duel, then I will be your opponent," Yuto said firmly.

"Why are you interfering? This is my duel," Yuzu insisted and stepped forward, only to stop when Yuto held out an arm to stop her.

"I don't want you to get hurt," he said quietly.

Yuzu stared with wide eyes.

"How admirable," Sawatari mocked. "You should leave before you embarrass yourself."

Yuto didn't respond and simply activated his duel disk.

"Interesting duel disk you got there," Sawatari noted as he activated his own duel disk.

"You know," Kazuki mused, "even though I don't know you, I really hope you kick this ten-thousandth-rate duelist's ass."

"Stop calling me that!" Sawatari shouted, glaring at Kazuki and then turned to glare at Yuto, who simply held his gaze evenly.

Their duel began with Yuto setting his entire hand and Sawatari started off strong by bringing out Mobius the Ice Monarch on his first turn, destroying two of Yuto's set cards, bringing out Mobius's upgraded form—Mobius the Frigid Ice Monarch—and destroying the rest of Yuto's set cards. He would have succeeded in dealing a lot of damage to Yuto if Yuto hadn't activated the effect of Phantom Knights Shadow Veil that allowed him to Special Summon as many Phantom Knights Shadow Veils as possible as monsters.

He brought out three, all in Defense Position, and Mobius destroyed one of them.

"I suppose you survive this turn, but I'll get you next turn. I set a card and end my turn," Sawatari said.

"There won't be a next turn," Yuto said, drawing a card and then gesturing to his two remaining monsters. "I overlay my two Level 4 Shadow Veils!"

Yuzu and Kazuki gasped as Yuto's two Shadow Veils transformed into two purple swirls and spiraled into a portal that resembled a spiraling galaxy of black and purple light. A column of blue lightning erupted from the portal.

" _Formed from pitch-black darkness to fight those foolish enough to oppose it with its treacherous fangs! Now descend! Xyz Summon! Rank 4! Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!_ " Yuto chanted as, with a loud roar, a giant black and purple dragon with purple lightning crackling around its wings appeared on the field with two orbs of light circling it like a star rotating around a sun. The dragon had 2500 Attack and 2000 Defense.

Everyone was impressed by the Xyz Summon, Yuto could see that on their faces, while Kenshin just snorted. "You really wanna get this over with quickly, huh?" he said.

"Your dragon doesn't matter. It's still too weak to take on Mobius," Sawatari sneered.

"Xyz Monsters show their true power by using the souls of their Overlay Units to annihilate their foes," Yuto said.

"Hn." Sawatari didn't seem to care, but that changed once Yuto explained Dark Rebellion's effect, using an Overlay Unit, to halve the Attack of a Level 5 or higher monster and increase its own Attack by that amount until the End Phase. He used the effect twice, decreasing Mobius's Attack to 700 and increasing his monster's attack to 4600.

"Now attack Mobius. Crush that glacier with your fangs! _Revolt of Lightning Disobey!_ " Yuto ordered and Dark Rebellion shot forward, its tusks glowing as it crashed into Mobius and destroyed it. The resulting explosion threw Sawatari backwards into the wall and sent debris flying in all directions.

Yuto immediately shielded Yuzu from the debris, noticing Kenshin had grabbed his look-alike and pulled him down, also shielding him from the debris. He winced when a stone crashed into his goggles, cracking the lens. Smoke began to rise up from a few flames that Dark Rebellion's attack had started up in other areas of the warehouse.

Sawatari rose to his feet unsteadily. He still had 100 Life Points left.

"What is going on?" one of his lackeys said.

"I felt that impact, even though we're not on an Action Field," his second lackey said. "Was that monster's power what sent us flying?"

Yuto stood up, once he was sure Yuzu was all right, and turned to face Sawatari while Kenshin also got up, brushing the debris off his back, and turned around as a puzzled Kazuki scrambled to his feet.

"I'll only ask this once," Yuto said and held up the pin. "Is this from LDS? What do you know about Academia?"

"What are you even talking about?" Sawatari said.

"Don't play dumb," Yuto snapped.

"I really don't know what that means! Every student at LDS has a pin like that and I know nothing about this Academia or whatever," Sawatari protested.

Kenshin huffed and turned his head. "Another dead end, looks like…"

Yuto cursed inwardly. He had hoped that they would know something, but they were now back to square one. "I have no more business with you," he said and turned around and started walking away.

"Duel's not over yet! I activate Ice Rage. When an Aqua-type monster is destroyed by battle, I can destroy one monster on your field and inflict damage equal to its Attack and I choose that dragon of yours," Sawatari declared as his facedown card flipped up. "I was prepared for your attack and I am gonna win."

"How pathetic," Kenshin huffed, folding his arms across his chest and turning his back to Sawatari, adding, "And here we thought he was actually someone to worry about."

Yuto didn't even bother on turning around. He didn't really feel much but contempt for Sawatari and Kenshin's words were close to what he was thinking. "I activate the effect of Phantom Knights' Spear in my Cemetery. By banishing it, I can negate your Trap and destroy it," he said as a spear appeared on the field, "and you also get dealt 100 points of damage."

Sawatari gasped. "No, wait, wait," he begged.

"Experience the rage and sorrow of the battlefield," Yuto said coolly, turning around to point at Sawatari and the spear shot forward. Sawatari yelped and covered his face as he was hurled against the wall, only to realize a moment later that the spear had only pierced his jacket. His Life Points fell to zero and the holograms vanished.

It wasn't as if Yuto had any intention of actually hurting the kid. The kid may make Yuto feel nothing but contempt, but he was still innocent and he didn't want to hurt anyone who was innocent; he really didn't want to hurt anyone at all, but the invasion had forced him to do whatever he had to in order to survive.

Kenshin gazed around the warehouse as if just noticing that parts of it were on fire and there were several large pieces of debris laying scattered everywhere and raised an eyebrow at Yuto. "You destroyed the warehouse," he said.

"It was not my intention," Yuto said, reaching up and removing his mask and goggles. He couldn't see through the goggles that well anyway because one of the lens was cracked. He blinked gray eyes a few times as they adjusted to the dim light from the flames.

"Yuya..." Yuzu gasped.

"Yuya?" Kazuki said in puzzlement.

"Wait, is that Sakaki Yuya?" Sawatari gasped and then passed out.

Yuto barley noticed as he tucked the goggles and mask away.

"Y...Yuya, why do you look like that?" Yuzu said, staring at Yuto in puzzlement.

Kenshin moved forward and gave Yuzu a puzzled look before he turned to Yuto. "She mistook you for someone else," he said and coughed, reaching up and removing his own mask and goggles, rubbing the smoke out of his eyes before he rested his free hand on Yuto's shoulder.

"What the…?" Kazuki blurted out, staring at Kenshin in utter shock while Yuzu's eyes went wide and she quickly glanced between Kenshin and Kazuki.

A bright pink light suddenly filled the warehouse and the next thing Yuto knew, he and Kenshin were standing in the middle of a darkened alley.

"What the hell was that?" Kenshin said, releasing Yuto's shoulder and gazing around. "How did we get here?"

"I have no idea," Yuto said and shook his head. "Let's get back to the hideout. We should probably talk about what happened."

Kenshin shrugged. "All right. I wanna hear what you think about that Yuzu girl looking like Ruri and that Kazuki kid looking like me," he said.

Yuto nodded in agreement. He was wondering that himself. There was a girl who looked very much like Ruri and there was a boy who looked very much like Kenshin.

 _ _It cannot be a coincidence, but if it's not then what exactly is the explanation for that?__ he thought as he and Kenshin began making their way toward their hideout.

 **. . .**

 **Next Time: Stand Up for You Show**

 ** **. . .****

 ** **A/n what do you think?****

 ** **Blaze: well, I hope you that you enjoyed this chapter and the introduction of the Ice Star monsters! Below is a list of the featured OC cards in this chapter as well as a note from their creator Misha (EndlessNight025).****

 ** **Featured cards****

 ** **Misha: Here's the list of original cards that premiered in this chapter. I mainly have the real life game in mind when coming up with card effects, but I still hope you like them, at least, since there's a lot more where that came from!****

Kazuki

 _ _Ice Star Cancer__

Level 2

WATER

Aqua/Effect

ATK 700/DEF 100

If this card is Normal or Special Summoned: You can target 1 face-up "Ice Star" monster you control; it cannot be destroyed by battle, until the end of your opponent's next turn. If this card is sent to the Graveyard by a card effect: You can target 1 face-up "Ice Star" monster you control; it cannot be destroyed by card effects, until the end of your opponent's next turn. You can only use 1 "Ice Star Cancer" effect per turn, and only once that turn.

 _ _Ice Star Gemini__

Level 3

WATER

Warrior/Effect

ATK 1100/DEF 500

If this card is Normal Summoned: You can target 1 "Ice Star" monster you control; double its ATK until the End Phase. If this card is sent to the Graveyard by a card effect: You can target 1 face-up "Ice Star" monster you control; it can make a second attack during each Battle Phase this turn. You can only use 1 "Ice Star Gemini" effect per turn, and only once that turn.

 _ _Ice Star Capricornus__

Level 4

WATER

Beast/Effect

ATK 1600/DEF 1000

If this card is Special Summoned: You can add 1 "Ice Star" Spell Card from your Deck to your hand. If this card is sent to the Graveyard by a card effect: You can target 1 "Ice Star" Spell Card in your Graveyard; add it to your hand. You can only use 1 "Ice Star Capricornus" effect per turn, and only once that turn.

 _ _Interstellar Ice Star Cassiopeia__

Level 6

WATER

Spellcaster/Fusion/Effect

ATK 2500/DEF 1900

2 "Ice Star" monsters

Must first be Fusion Summoned. If this card is Fusion Summoned: Face-up "Ice Star" monsters you currently control gain 500 ATK. When this card destroys a monster by battle and sends it to the Graveyard: Gain LP equal to that monster's original ATK. If this card is sent to the Graveyard by a card effect: You can target 1 card on the field; destroy it. You can only use this effect of "Interstellar Ice Star Cassiopeia" once per turn.

 _ _Interstellar Ice Star Cepheus__

Level 7

WATER

Warrior/Fusion/Effect

ATK 2600/DEF 2000

1 "Ice Star" monster + 1 Level 5 or higher "Ice Star" monster

Must first be Fusion Summoned. If this card is Fusion Summoned: Face-up monsters your opponent currently controls lose 500 ATK. When this card destroys a monster by battle and sends it to the Graveyard: Inflict damage to your opponent equal to that monster's original ATK. If this card is sent to the Graveyard by a card effect: You can target 1 card on the field; destroy it. You can only use this effect of "Interstellar Ice Star Cepheus" once per turn.

 _ _Ice Star Fusion__

 _Quick-Play Spell_

 _Fusion Summon 1 "Ice Star" Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck, using monsters from your hand or field as Fusion Materials._

 _ _Ice Star Saber__

Equip Spell

Equip only to an "Ice Star" monster. It gains 1000 ATK. When this card is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard: Inflict 500 damage to your opponent.

 _ _Glacial Block__

Normal Trap

When an opponent's monster declares an attack: Target the attacking monster; negate the attack, and if you do, inflict 500 damage to your opponent for each face-up "Ice Star" monster you control.

Asakura

 _ _Shiranui Shrinemaiden__

Level 5

FIRE

Zombie/Effect

ATK 2000/DEF 0

If this card is Normal or Special Summoned: You can banish 1 "Shiranui" card from your hand; draw 2 cards. If this card is banished: You can target 1 Set card your opponent controls; destroy it. You can only use each effect of "Shiranui Shrinemaiden" once per turn.

 _ _Shiranui Style Searing Slash__

Quick-Play Spell

Banish 1 face-up Zombie-Type monster you control (until the End Phase), then target 1 face-up monster your opponent controls; that target loses ATK equal to the original ATK of that banished monster.

 **Blaze: I hope that you enjoyed this chapter and reviews, as always, are much appreciated. The next chapter will be up, hopefully, next week.**


	3. Stand Up For You Show

**Well, I know I said I would update once per week. Yeah...that's obviously not working out so well so this story will get updated when it gets updated. Sorry for anyone who wants a set schedule. With work and working on my other stories, some of which are originals, I just can't focus on a set schedule at the moment.**

 **Anyway, thank you to _Guest x2, BestGuestEver, MagicalPrincess07,_ and _Fantasymaker76_ for reviewing the last chapter.**

 **And thank you to _EndlessNight025_ for being an awesome beta-reader/co-author.**

 **I hope that you enjoy this chapter, even if most of it is a recap chapter. There are some other things going on, including some backstory on Kenshin. Reviews, as always, are much appreciated.**

 **Turn 3**

 **Stand Up for You Show**

 _ _A sharp scream. Flames burning bright. Smoke coiling into the air.__

 _ _Purple light. Dreaded purple light engulfing the area.__

 _ _Pleas. Laughter.__

 _ _A once happy city torn asunder by violence. Vicious duel monsters produced by Real Solid Vision savagely destroying the city that he has lived in for his entire life.__

 _ _He saw his adopted mother.__

 _ _He saw his adopted father.__

 _ _He saw his adopted brother and adopted sister.__

 _ _He heard his mother scream at him to run while she and his father tried desperately, in vain, to give him and his siblings time to get out of there. It wasn't enough.__

 _ _He was frozen in fear. He stood helplessly as his older brother and younger sister were ruthlessly taken away from him.__

 _ _It was only his younger sister's words that got him moving. "You have to live! Run!"__

 _ _He did as he was told and ran.__

 _ _Ran away from the screams.__

 _ _Ran away from the laughter.__

 _ _Ran away from the destruction.__

 _ _But no matter how far he ran, it always caught up to him, would always remain ingrained in his mind and would never leave.__

 _ _The horrified faces of his family. The flash of devastating purple light. The vicious laughter of the culprits…__

With a sharp cry, Kenshin snapped out of his nightmare. He sat up sharply and banged his head against the forehead of the person leaning over him. He fell back, clutching at his head while the person he'd headbutted jerked back and nearly lost his footing. Rubbing his head, he turned to the other person and saw Yuto rubbing his forehead, a pained expression on his face.

"Sorry, Yuto," he said as he sat up and swung his legs off the makeshift cot that he'd been sleeping on.

"It's fine. You were crying in your sleep, so I tried to wake you up," Yuto explained and sat down on the cot beside Kenshin, adding, "I wasn't expecting you to headbutt me, though. You have a hard head."

"My head's not that hard," Kenshin protested.

"Speak for yourself," Yuto said with a faint smile, but concern remained in his gray eyes. "But if you want to talk about what you were dreaming about, you can talk to me."

"I know." Yuto had always been a good listener and, more often than not, Kenshin took his friend up on that offer. That was primarily because whenever Kenshin had a nightmare, it was always associated with the same demons that haunted Yuto's mind, and today was no different.

"It was the invasion again," Kenshin said, turning his light orange gaze to the adjacent wall before scooting back and drawing his knees close to him, resting his chin on them. "What happened to my family, to be more specific."

"It's never easy to have to witness such memories again," Yuto said quietly.

"It's the feelings that are associated with that memory that really get me," Kenshin said. "I didn't do anything to save them. Mom and Dad put themselves into the line of fire and tried to buy me, Eva, and Matt time to get out of there, and then Eva and Matt did the same so that I could get out of there. And I didn't do a damn thing to help them!" Tears of helpless frustration and self-loathing welled up in Kenshin's eyes and he buried his face into his knees. "I should've helped them. I should've done something! I had a duel disk and my deck. I could've dueled them, like Dad did, but I just froze up and...and..."

He felt Yuto rub his back comfortingly. "Calm down, Kenshin. The invasion took everyone by surprise and no one knew of how to really react to it," he said quietly. "You've never used dueling for a conflict before because that wasn't the way that we were taught. Dueling was always for fun, so it was definitely difficult to see someone using it as a weapon."

"I know, but that didn't stop Eva and Matt. They stood up and tried to fight, tried to defend themselves and me, but..." Kenshin trailed off, still feeling the tears. He always got this way whenever he had that particular nightmare; no matter how many months had passed by since it happened, the memory never stopped to make him emotional.

"Not everyone can react the same way in that kind of situation. Everyone is different and thus how they react to such a situation would be different," Yuto said, stilling rubbing circles into Kenshin's back. Kenshin wasn't sure what he would have done had it not been for Yuto, not just now but also during the invasion.

It had been Yuto who found Kenshin not long after he lost his family. It had been Yuto that brought Kenshin to the area where the survivors had gathered. It had been Yuto who helped him to slowly come to terms, as best he could, with what happened.

Kenshin was sure that he would have ended up just like his family if it hadn't been for Yuto.

He opened his eyes and wiped away the few tears that were left. "You know I'm not just upset about not being able to help my family. There are so many others that I failed to save even though I had the chance," he said. He knew that it was the same way with the other members of the Resistance; he wasn't saying that to make it seem as if he was the only one who'd ever gone through that, he was just talking and trying to calm himself down by getting whatever he wanted to say out.

He was sure Yuto knew that because he didn't say anything.

"How long have you been up?" Kenshin asked, turning to gaze at Yuto and noticing the tired gleam in his eyes and the way he kept yawning.

"I never went to sleep," he admitted, rubbing his eyes.

Kenshin frowned. "Why not?"

"I was trying to get in touch with Shun and find out some more information about this dimension," Yuto admitted.

"You still should've gotten some sleep," Kenshin said with a disapproving frown.

Yuto gave him an amused look. "Yes, Mother," he teased.

Kenshin huffed. "Well, someone has to make sure you take care of yourself."

Yuto chuckled. "I am fine, Kenshin," he assured him. "I'll try to get some sleep tonight. Are you ready to head out again and find some more information?"

Kenshin nodded, just as his stomach growled and he flushed. "Um, you wouldn't happen to have anything to eat, would you?"

"I did manage to get something while you were asleep," Yuto admitted, standing up and walking over to the table. "This lady was about to toss some bread that hadn't sold, but she gave it to me instead. She said it was because I looked hungry and she didn't want to waste food when she could help someone instead."

Kenshin smiled and stood up, walking over to join his friend. "People in this dimension are real nice–well, most of the time. That Sawatari kid from yesterday wasn't so nice," he said as he accepted the piece of bread that Yuto tore off the loaf on the table and handed to him.

"No. That girl certainly didn't like him and neither did that boy."

"The Ruri-look-alike and the one who looks like me? We never really did get the chance to talk about that last night."

"There's little to talk about. I don't have any answers for why they look like you and Ruri," Yuto said, nibbling on his piece of bread as he sat down on the lone chair in the room while Kenshin leaned against the wall beside him. "The boy called the girl Yuzu and Sawatari called the boy Kazuki; that's all that we really know."

"That, and Yuzu mistook you for someone named Yuya. Does that mean that there's someone who looks like you in this dimension, too?"

Yuto hummed. "It's possible," he said finally. "I don't know why, though."

Kenshin sighed and bit into his bread. He swallowed a bite and said, "We just came here to try to find some clue as to where Ruri was taken and things just got so much more confusing."

"Tell me about it," said Yuto with a sigh as he finished his bread. "But we can worry about that later. For now, we should continue toward our current objective. We should also try to find Shun. I have this feeling that he completely ignored my warning."

"Considering it's Shun, I wouldn't be surprised," Kenshin said and sighed. He pressed his lips together as an idea came to him. "We haven't been having much luck on finding information. Maybe we can try what we did with Sawatari yesterday. Duel others and get information on Academia that way."

Yuto was shaking his head even before Kenshin finished speaking. "This dimension isn't our battlefield, Kenshin. We should not drag the residents of this dimension into our problem, even the duelists. Sawatari didn't know anything, after all, and he said that all of LDS's students had that pin. The chances of the other students knowing anything are slim. Do you really expect to challenge all of them?"

"Well, no, but what about the teachers? LDS is a school, so the teachers might know more than the students do. Besides, if we challenge the teachers and word gets back to the president of Leo Corporation, that can only help with Shun's plan, too," Kenshin said and finished the bread in his hand.

"Still..."

"Yuto, I know you're just skeptical of Shun's plan, and I know you don't want to put innocents in harm's way but, in this dimension, we don't really know who is innocent and who is the enemy," Kenshin said. "Dueling the people here can help to determine that."

"Fusion is used in this dimension, though. How do we know whether those who use Fusion in this dimension are the enemy or not?"

"I don't really know." Kenshin fell silent before his thoughts drifted to the partial duel he'd witnessed two days ago and the boy whom he realized was the same boy he'd seen in the warehouse the day before. He decided to tell Yuto about what happened and his thoughts on it.

"The day before yesterday's incident, I actually saw that Kazuki kid duel. He uses Fusion, but I didn't sense the same hostility like from those who attacked us in Heartland," he said. "I don't know if that means he's not the enemy or not, but it's still odd that he looks like me and uses Fusion."

"You don't trust him." It wasn't a question.

"I don't trust anyone fully. You, Shun, Ruri, and Michael are probably the only ones who've earned some of my trust. Maybe that's why I'm suspicious of him."

"Even if you are suspicious of him, don't do anything stupid, Kenshin." A faintly amused smirk played on Yuto's lips. "I don't have the money to bail you out of jail."

Kenshin scowled at the other boy. "Why must you assume that I'll do something that'll land me in jail?" he protested.

"You nearly got arrested our first day here. I have every right to be worried."

"That wasn't even my fault!"

Yuto just gave him a small half-smile in return and stood up. "Even so, I strongly suggest you leave him alone. He's already seen both of our faces and, while I have no doubt he has many questions, I don't want to drag him into this conflict anymore than I want to drag Yuzu into this conflict. This is not their fight."

Kenshin let loose a breath. "I know," he said. He didn't want to, either. No matter his suspicions, his look-alike had done nothing to really suggest that he was in league with Academia, except for using Fusion, and Kenshin wasn't like Shun who automatically saw Fusion as the enemy no matter who used it. "I'll leave him alone, but I am still going to get some information. I want to go against the teachers at LDS."

Yuto turned to him. "Just remember the same thing that I told Shun."

 _ _This is not our battlefield.__

"I won't forget," Kenshin assured the other boy and walked over to his cot to pick up his duel disk. "I'll see about tracking down Shun while I'm at it and see his progress since he hasn't checked in since we arrived."

"I will look around for him as well." Yuto's face was expressionless, but Kenshin could hear the underlying worry in his voice. With no word from Shun, there was no telling of just where the other boy was and what happened to him, so Yuto had the right to be worried.

"I'll be back tonight. Let's say we'll meet back here around eight?"

Yuto nodded.

"Sounds like a plan, then. See you later, Yuto," Kenshin said as he grabbed his hooded cloak that he'd draped across the back of his cot.

"See you, Kenshin. Be careful and don't get into any trouble. Remember that I don't have bail money." Yuto was quick to dodge the pillow Kenshin, an irritated scowl on his lips, chugged at his head and walked out of the warehouse with an amused smile on his lips.

Kenshin sighed as the irritation faded and smiled. __I'm glad that Yuto can still act like his old self at least a little bit, even if the invasion changed him quite a bit,__ he thought and, drawing the hood over his head, made his way out of the warehouse.

 **. . .**

"What?"

"Yuya did what?"

"That's not possible!"

Three exclamations, spoken at the exact same, came out of the lips of Gongenzaka, Shuzo, and Tatsuya the instant that a shocked Yuya was accused of assaulting Sawatari the day before. He tried to protest his innocence as well, and turned to Yuzu and his brother who'd both been there—according to Sawatari's friends—but Kazuki was oddly distracted, staring off into the distance, while Yuzu was chewing on her lower lip.

That wasn't him and he knew it. When he'd showed up at that warehouse, he'd been too focused on checking on Yuzu and his brother that he hadn't even noticed Sawatari was there. He hadn't attacked them, and especially not with Xyz Summoning.

"You know that wasn't me, Yuzu, Kazuki. I don't even know how to Xyz Summon," Yuya insisted.

Yuzu bit her lip and turned to him. "It...It really wasn't you, right, Yuya?"

"It wasn't," Yuya insisted, a bit surprised that his best friend actually doubted him. Of all people to doubt his innocence, he would have never expected Yuzu.

Yuzu bit her lip and then nodded, her eyes set in determination. "All right. Then I believe you," she said and turned to Kazuki. "What about you, Kazuki? You haven't said anything."

"Huh?" Kazuki frowned, puzzled.

Yuzu's eye twitched and Yuya winced as his brother was whacked upside the head by Yuzu's harisen.

Kazuki nursed his head, pouting. "What was that for?"

"For not paying attention," Yuzu scolded.  
Kazuki sighed, still rubbing his head. "Sorry," he said. "I heard about what happened—and Sawatari's a liar. That's all there is to it—but…I guess I just got a lot on my mind right now."

"He's not a liar. Sakaki Yuya was there. You saw him too," Sawatari's friend said.

"I know my brother and he would never do something like this. No matter what Sawatari says, I will always believe my brother," Kazuki said.

"How admirable, though not surprising. Family always sticks up for family," a new voice said and Yuya, Yuzu, Gongenzaka, Kazuki, Shuzo, and the three kids turned as a tall woman walked toward them. She was dressed in a dark pink blouse and knee-length skirt with a black collar and her magenta hair was curled into the shape of a heart at the top of her head. Her expressionless blue eyes studied the gathered people.

"Who're you?" Futoshi said in puzzlement.

"Akaba Himika, Chairwoman of Leo Corporation. A pleasure," the woman said. "Now then, shall we take this conversation inside?"

Shuzo gritted his teeth but nodded. "This way," he said and led the way into You Show.

Yuya turned his head to his brother as the two of them followed the chairwoman and Shuzo toward the school with Yuzu walking at Yuya's other side. "What's bothering you, Kazuki?"

"Don't worry about it, Yuya. It's nothing important," Kazuki assured him.

Yuya's lips curved into a frown. He wasn't sure that he believed that. "Kazuki, you know you can talk to me about anything," he said quietly.

"I know that." Kazuki's brow furrowed. "It's just...I'm having a hard time making sense out of it myself but...let's just focus on what the Chairwoman wants. And...if you want, we can talk later."

Yuya nodded. It was more important for him to focus on what was happening. He was being accused of doing something he didn't do and now the chairwoman of Leo Corporation was getting involved?

 _What exactly is going on?_ he thought.

Once Chairwoman Akaba and Shuzo were seated, with the You Show students standing around the couch, Akaba said, "As you already have been told, Sawatari Shingo was attacked by someone and Sakaki Yuya is the prime suspect in this case."

"I had nothing to do with it," Yuya insisted again.

"Yeah, Big Bro Yuya wouldn't do something like that," Ayu insisted adamantly.

"I believe in Yuya," Gongenzaka said firmly and Yuzu nodded mutely in agreement.

"Big Bro Kazuki's right about Big Bro Yuya," Futoshi said.

"Your strong friendship is truly admirable," Akaba said and crossed her legs as she added, "However, whether Sakaki Yuya was involved or not, we cannot let news of this incident spread to the media. LDS's reputation would take a severe hit if that were to happen. Therefore, I propose a deal. A duel, or rather three duels; if You Show Duel School wins, then this incident will be forgotten. However, if you should lose, then You Show shall become part of LDS."

"What?" Yuzu gasped in surprise.

"You want to take control of You Show?" Sora said while raising his eyebrows in surprise, biting into a chocolate bar he'd pulled out of his pocket.

Shuzo narrowed his eyes. "I've heard that you've been acquiring several duel schools across the world. Did you set up the incident with Sawatari just to try to claim You Show as your own as well?" he demanded.

Akaba waved a hand. "I had nothing to do with what happened to Sawatari Shingo," she said calmly. "I simply saw the opportunity that this incident presented me with and jumped on it. I wish to acquire You Show and add Pendulum Summoning to LDS's curriculum."

Yuya's eyes widened. "Add Pendulum Summoning to LDS's curriculum?" he murmured to himself before he shook his head, pushing the idea of others learning how to Pendulum Summon out of his mind for now, and stepped forward. It didn't matter what Akaba Himika wanted to do, Yuya wasn't going to let her do it.

"Dueling is not a tool for fighting," he said firmly. "And I refuse to allow my dad's school be taken over by you. My dad's school is for teaching duelists how to be entertainers and make the audience happy and smile, the dueling style that my dad follows and that I follow as well, and I refuse to allow my dad's school and what he is trying to teach with it be taken away by someone who just uses money and power for their own ends."

"Well said, Yuya," Kazuki said.

"Exactly as Yuya said. We won't hand You Show over to you," Shuzo said firmly, jumping to his feet.

"Yeah! We won't!" Ayu said, and Tatsuya and Futoshi also voiced their agreement.

"Very well. It would seem that you have made your decision," Akaba said, not looking surprised. "Very well. Then we will have three duels; the top students of each of our dueling courses will duel three of your students, Principal Hiiragi."

Shuzo nodded. "That's fine by me. None of us are going to lose."

It was decided that Yuya, Yuzu, and Sora would duel the three duelists that had come with Chairwoman Akaba. When Ayu mentioned that she was surprised that Kazuki hadn't volunteered, Kazuki said, "I...don't think I can duel in such a high-stakes duel right now. I've...got too much on my mind to be of much help."

Yuya frowned at his brother, but nodded and smiled. "Don't worry, Bro. We'll handle this."

"Yeah, we've got this," Sora chimed in.

"We'll win this," Yuzu said in determination.

Kazuki nodded. "I have no doubt you will. I'll show my support from the sidelines."

The first duel of the three duels was between Yuya and Shijima Hokuto, a duelist who had a high percentage rate and was the top student of the Xyz Summoning Course. The duel was to take place in the Cosmo Sanctuary Action Field, which, unfortunately, worked against Yuya because Hokuto knew that field like the back of his own hand and had said as much.

"I've memorized the timing and locations of all the Action Cards," Hokuto said as he held up the Action Card that Yuya had tried to grab not long after the effect of Hokuto's Sacred Pleiades sent Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon back to his hand, leaving him with only two monsters on the field, none of which stood a chance against Hokuto's Xyz monster.

Yuya had never seen an Xyz summoning before this duel and he would admit that he was impressed by it, even if he knew that it was going to make it harder for him to win that duel, especially with Sacred Pleiades's effect. Even though he'd successfully Pendulum Summoned on his first turn, the loss of Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon that happened as quickly as it had, plus Hokuto stopping him from getting an Action Card as easily as he had, put Yuya in a bit of a pinch and it was only the second turn of the duel.

He pressed his lips together as he jumped to his feet and darted off, scanning the field for another Action Card. So far, he and Hokuto were even in terms of Life Points, but Hokuto's monster was too powerful for his Entermate Sword Fish to take on. He needed to find an Action Card.

As he searched, he could hear Principal Shuzo shouting at him to forgive him for choosing a field that benefited LDS more so than him. He smiled softly to himself as he heard Shuzo shout encouragements at him, insisting that he needed to be hot-blooded and fight with a hot-blooded spirit.

 _I will,_ he thought. He certainly wasn't going to give in without a fight. He would definitely protect his dad's school.

Unfortunately, Hokuto had his Pleiades ensure that he couldn't get to any of the Action Cards that he managed to see, which frustrated Yuya to no end. He took a deep breath as he stepped back while Hokuto hopped off the pillar he'd been standing on, a grin on his lips.

"Trying to find Action Cards is futile. But you should make a move. You've only got a minute to play a card or end your turn," he said.

Yuya gritted his teeth, knowing Hokuto was right. "I place this facedown and end my turn," he said, inserting a card into his duel disk.

"You know I've won a total of forty duels in a row since I mastered Xyz summoning," Hokuto bragged with a smirk as he drew a card. "Defeating you is going to be my forty-first win. You should be honored. Battle! Sacred Pleiades, attack Entermate Sword Fish!"

The tall gold-and-white warrior monster shot forward and swung its sword, cutting through a terrified Sword Fish and forcing Yuya to let go of the clownish sword fish and jump back, shielding himself from the aftershock of the destruction as his Life Points fell to 2100.

"You didn't even try to stop it?" Hokuto scoffed. "Man, Sawatari must've been lazy or something when you attacked him."

"I didn't attack him," Yuya protested.

Hokuto waved a hand. "I don't really care if you did or not. You're still gonna lose and You Show will become part of LDS."

"I won't let that happen," Yuya insisted. _I will protect Dad's school one way or another._

"Try it. I place this faced down and turn things over to you," Hokuto said, inserting a card into his duel disk and gesturing to Yuya.

"My draw," Yuya said, drawing a card and looked at it before looking at Pleiades. _So long as it has Overlay Units, I'll be in trouble. If I can get him to use that last Overlay unit, I'll have a better chance,_ he thought as he added the card he drew to his hand.

"Once again, with the set scale, I Pendulum Summon!" Yuya said, gesturing to the two columns of blue light and the monsters that floated within them on the field. "Sway, Pendulum of the Soul! Carve an arc of light across the ether! Pendulum Summon! Come forth, my monsters!"

In two burst of light, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon appeared on the field with a roar, its dichromatic eyes shining, while Entermate Turn Toad appeared next to it.

"Hey! This is getting boring! C'mon, be more entertaining!" Sora shouted.

"This isn't the time for that!" Yuya shouted back and added in a mutter as he scanned the area, "I can't afford to lose."

. . .

Kazuki let loose a breath as he watched his brother's duel against Hokuto. It was clear to him that Yuya was letting his desire to protect You Show distract him. It was similar to what happened during Yuya's duel against Sawatari and Kazuki bit his lip as he studied Yuya, who had hopped on Odd-Eyes's back and was riding toward where an Action Card had fallen.

 _Yuya…_ Kazuki found his mind going back to what happened in that warehouse. The boy that looked like Yuya; if Kazuki hadn't grown up with Yuya, then he admitted that he might have made the same mistake as Sawatari's friends. But what was really boggling his mind was not the boy who looked like Yuya.

It was the boy who looked like him.

That boy… the only difference that Kazuki had noticed was the hair and eye color. The boy's hair was light orange with a thick strand of red covering his left eye and his eyes were the same color as the majority of his hair. But his face was identical to Kazuki's; he just couldn't get that out of his mind.

 _Why does that boy have the same face as me? I just don't get that. Who was that kid? And why was he with someone who looks so much like Yuya?_ he thought, his brow furrowing.

A sharp cry jolted Kazuki out of his thoughts and he snapped his gaze toward the duel, light blue eyes widening in horror as Yuya was sent tumbling down the side of the roof he'd been on. "Yuya!" he shouted in horror, his scream echoed by Yuzu.  
"Big Bro Yuya!" Ayu, Futoshi, and Tatsuya shouted.

"That dirty little… he purposely timed the activation of Pleiades's effect to cause Yuya to fall," Gongenzaka growled.

Kazuki gripped his hand into a fist, a scowl on his lips. He was grateful when Yuya, through the use of his set card Entermate Revival, managed to save himself by bringing back Sword Fish and lodging the sword into the wall. He was dangling from the hilt of Sword Fish but, at least, he was all right.

"Nice save," Hokuto commented.

"That guy is just as bad as that ten-thousandth-rate duelist Sawatari," Yuzu growled.

"He deserves a smack with your paper fan, I would think," Kazuki said. _Or a punch to the nose,_ he thought. Even if Action Duels were known for being dangerous, for a duelist to deliberately try to injure their opponent like that was terrible.

"Oh, I agree," Yuzu said.

"That was low," Tatsuya said.

"You put Big Bro Yuya into a lot of danger with that move," Ayu chided.

"That was dirty," Futoshi exclaimed.

They were ignored by Hokuto but, at least, Yuya was safe. He managed to swing himself back onto the roof and even managed to get the Action Card, only for it to be destroyed by the Action Card Cosmo Arrow that Hokuto had gotten two turns ago, forcing Yuya to end his turn.

For a moment, Kazuki thought his brother was safe since Sacred Pleiades didn't have any more Overlay Units but he was wrong as Hokuto was quick to bring out another Sacred Pleiades. To make matters worse, he used the Sacred Pleiades without any Overlay Units to bring out his strongest monster: Sacred Ptolemys Messier 7, a beautiful and large gold-and-white machine dragon with 2700 Attack and 2000 Defense.

Chairwoman Akaba chuckled and Kazuki turned to her as she gave them a confident smirk. "It seems that You Show getting the gift of Pendulum Summoning was merely a coincidence. I believe I would be in your best interests to join with LDS."

"Not gonna happen, Chairwoman," Kazuki said, turning his gaze back to the duel and wincing when Hokuto used the new Pleiades's effect to return Turn Toad to Yuya's hand, causing him to nearly fall into the abyss between two floating stones, but Yuya managed to grab onto the stone.

Kazuki released the breath that he hadn't realized he'd been holding, but his relief was short-lived as Pleiades attacked Sword Fish. Yuya didn't stop as he darted toward the building an Action Card was in but, along with destroying Sword Fish, Pleiades's sword also cut through the pillars supporting the building Yuya had just entered.

"Yuya!" Yuzu screamed as the building collapsed inward, conjuring up a giant cloud of dust.

"Big Bro Yuya!" Ayu cried.

 _ _Yuya…__ Kazuki gripped the pendant around his neck, hoping that his brother was all right.

Thankfully, his brother was. Not only did he manage to survive the collapsing building but he also managed to get the card that he'd been going after. Kazuki let loose another relieved breath.

"Him going after a card is typical Yuya," Yuzu said with a small sigh.

"Still nearly gave me a freaking heart attack," Kazuki grumbled as he watched Yuya avoid getting too damaged by a direct attack from Sacred Ptomelys Messier 7 using the Action Card Twinkle Comet. His Life Points fell to 400 but Hokuto got dealt 500 points of damage himself, which enraged him—apparently, he'd come out of his last forty duels with no damage to his Life Points—but Yuya's Life Points dropped again to 200 after Hokuto activated Sacred Tempest.

"I'll take you down next turn," Hokuto shouted, "no matter what."

"Your actions are terrible," Ayu shouted.

"Shut up! Duels are nothing more than fights and, in order to win, you shouldn't be picky on how you do so," Hokuto shouted back.

"That's wrong," Kazuki murmured.

"You're wrong," Yuya called. "Duels are not about fighting, and I don't want anyone to get hurt."

Yuzu stiffened and Kazuki pressed his lips together, remembering that the boy who looked like Yuya had said something similar the day before. He shook his head. Yuya was not the same person as that boy, no matter if his words were similar to what his lookalike said. He was sure of that.

He was brought out of his thoughts when Yuya declared "Ladies and Gentlemen!" and he smiled to himself. That was Yuya's way of stating that he had what he needed to win the duel.

And win the duel he did.

Kazuki winced as the final strike that took out Hokuto's Life Points, delivered by Entermate Trampolynx, sent Hokuto flying face first into the ceiling of the Action Duel. He would have felt sorry for Hokuto if he hadn't felt he deserved it for those dirty tricks he'd pulled off during the duel.

As Yuya joined everyone in the viewing area, and the kids congratulated him on the win by tackling him to the ground, Kazuki turned to Yuzu who was frowning and deep in thought. "You're still thinking about what happened," he stated, more than asked, quietly.

"Yeah...It's just...that guy said something similar to what Yuya said," Yuzu said softly, turning the bracelet around her wrist over a few times. "And..."

"He wasn't Yuya," Kazuki said. "At least, I really want to believe he wasn't Yuya. Yuya wouldn't do that but, at the same time, I suppose it's hard to get past the fact that the guy looked almost exactly like Yuya."

"Yeah. And that other kid...why did he look like you?" Yuzu whispered. "I just don't get any of this."

"I don't either." Kazuki turned as Chairwoman Akaba moved over to join them. "The next duel's probably going to start soon."

"Right. I have to focus. I need to be strong to defend You Show," Yuzu said in determination as she also turned to face the Chairwoman.

"Well, you have one duel under your belt," Akaba said and nodded to the dark-brown skinned girl with long straight black hair and red eyes as she stepped forward.

"I am Kotsu Masumi, the ace of the Fusion Course. Who will be my opponent?" she said.

"Fusion Course?" Kazuki perked up in interest.

"Oh? Interesting," Sora murmured, also leaning forward while chewing on a biscuit stick.

"I'll be your opponent," Yuzu declared.

"Go get her, Yuzu," Yuya said as he finally managed to untangle himself from the kids and join Yuzu and Kazuki. He gave Yuzu an encouraging smile and Yuzu managed a small, uncertain smile in return. Kazuki had the odd feeling she was seeing the boy from the day before rather than Yuya and he placed a hand on Yuzu's shoulder.

"Show 'em just how strong us You Show students are," he said, hoping to get her mind off what happened the day before.

"Right!" Yuzu said firmly and faced Masumi with determined eyes before the two of them made their way into the duel arena.

"She seems distracted," Yuya noted, concerned, and glanced at Kazuki. "The way she looked at me… it was as if she was seeing someone else."

"Don't worry about it, Yuya," Kazuki assured his brother. "She'll be fine."

"What, exactly, happened yesterday, Kazuki?" Yuya asked quietly as Shuzo activated the Action Field Crystal Corridor, insisting that it was fitting because of Yuzu's dazzling cuteness and that she should shine to her heart's content, which only caused Yuzu to groan in embarrassment. Masumi scoffed and told Yuzu that her eyes had no luster, and that there was hesitation in her heart.

"I'll tell you later," Kazuki said finally.

Yuya nodded and turned his gaze back to the duel. "Right. We have more important matters to focus on."

Masumi started off the duel strong by Fusion Summoning a monster right off the bat, using Gem-Knight Fusion to fuse Gem-Knight Tourmaline and Gem-Knight Emerald in her hand and bring out Gem-Knight Topaz.

"Wait, monsters that haven't been summoned can be fused?" Yuya gawked in surprise.

"Yeah. It's called Hand Fusion," Sora said and gestured to Kazuki while Masumi ended her turn with a facedown. "Kazuki did the same thing during his first Fusion Summon and then a variant of that by using one card in his hand and one on his field during his second Fusion Summon. I'm still convinced that you've Fusion Summoned before that duel."

"I haven't," Kazuki denied.

"Still don't believe that."

Yuzu was quick to go on the offensive by bringing out Prodigy Mozart the Melodious Maestra and, using her ace's effect, bringing out Canon the Melodious Diva. With Prodigy Mozart, she knocked Masumi's Life Points down to 3200 and then dropped it down to 1800 with Canon's attack while also knocking Masumi off her feet.

"Taking out more than half her Life Points in one move is pretty good," Sora commented.

"Keep it up, Yuzu," Yuya called.

"Not bad. I suppose you have some skill," Masumi said as she sat up and dusted herself off. "But you shouldn't think you've won just yet."

"You're just a sore loser," Yuzu said.

"You will understand whether I am one or not during my next turn," Masumi said.

Yuzu frowned at that, but, using Canon's effect to switch herself to Defense Mode, she ended her turn.

The duel started to turn slightly against Yuzu when Masumi brought out her true ace monster, a powerful warrior monster known as Gem-Knight Master Dia. She used Master Dia's effect to banish Gem-Knight Topaz from her Cemetery and had Master Dia destroy Prodigy Mozart and bring Yuzu's Life Points down to 3700.

"It's just 300 points of damage, nothing to worry about," Futoshi said.

"I have this odd feeling Masumi has more up her sleeve," Kazuki said.

"Probably," Sora mused.

"But Master Dia's effect activates," Masumi said. "Since I activated it to banish Topaz before the Battle Phase, Master Dia gains Topaz's name and effects. And one of Topaz's effects is that if it destroys a monster by battle, you get dealt damage equal to its attack!"

A wave of light shot across the field and crashed into Yuzu, throwing her backwards. She crashed into the ground, rolling a few feet, as her Life Points fell to 1100.

"Yuzu..." Yuya murmured, concerned.

"C'mon, Yuzu! Keep burning and be hot-blooded," Shuzo cried.

"She still has Life Points left," Gongenzaka pointed out. "And Master Dia can't attack anymore."

"Is that so?" Akaba said with a faint smile.

Yuya glanced at Akaba but, before he could ask, Masumi answered his unspoken question.

"Another effect that Master Dia inherits from Topaz is that he can attack twice during the Battle Phase!" she declared right before Master Dia attacked.

Yuzu went for an Action Card, only for her to crash into one of the crystal pillars in the corridor, realizing too late that it was actually a reflection.

"Your eyes must truly be clouded if you are deceived by a reflection in the crystal," Masumi mused as the blast of light from Master Dia's sword crashed into her and sent her flying backwards with a scream.

"Yuzu!" Yuya gasped and bolted for the door to the arena as the Action Field faded away and Kazuki hurried after him, catching up just in time to see Yuzu collapsing into Yuya's arms and hugging him.

Masumi walked over to join them. "That's quite the show you're giving us," she said.

"Lovebirds," Kazuki coughed.

Yuzu went bright red and, with a cry, she shoved Yuya away. Yuya yelped as he was thrown backwards and crashed into Kazuki, sending both of them tumbling to the ground.

"Ow! What was that for?" Yuya protested, sitting up on Kazuki's stomach while Kazuki grimaced.

"S...Sorry," Yuzu apologized.

"Yuya, would you...please...get off?" Kazuki stammered out.

Yuya glanced down and quickly scrambled off Kazuki who sat up and rubbed his back. "Sorry," he said quickly.

"It's fine," Kazuki waves it off.

Yuzu moved forward. "I am sorry," she whispered.

"You know you didn't have to push me," Yuya said.

"No, I'm sorry about losing the duel," Yuzu said quietly, looking down. "I mean this duel was really important, and..."

"Don't worry about it. We just have to win the next one," Yuya assured her and smiled as Yuzu looked up and gave a tentative smile in return.  
The next duel was against the ace of the Synchro Course, Todo Yaiba, and, as Yuzu, Yuya, and Kazuki rejoined the group in the viewing area, Yaiba stepped forward. "Who is going to be my opponent?"

"I would like to avenge Yuzu if I could but, as this is a match between You Show and LDS and I am an outsider, I cannot. Sora, win for You Show," Gongenzaka said, glancing at Sora.

"Nah, I'm good," Sora said.

"What?" Gongenzaka exclaimed.

"Kazuki, why don't you duel? You don't seem as distracted now as you were earlier," Sora commented and, glancing over at Yaiba, who was exercising while waiting for the answer, added, "Though, I don't think you'd be a good match up against him, either, but it would be good practice.

Kazuki was about to agree, but hesitated and then shook his head. "The duel's too important," he said. "We can't afford to lose it and, no matter how well I did during my duel against Himari, I can't risk it with You Show on the line. Gongenzaka, will you duel Yaiba?"

"That'll work! Little-Gon, why don't you?" Sora said.

"Little-Gon?!" Gongenzaka exclaimed. "Why, I have never felt so insulted...wait...what?"

Yuya smiled at Gongenzaka. "If you're dueling, Gongenzaka, Kazuki and I don't have to worry about losing You Show," he said.

Gongenzaka stared at Yuya, touched, before his eyes flared with fiery determination. "Very well. With my Steadfast Dueling, I will win!" he declared.

"How long are you guys going to make me wait?" Yaiba interrupted in irritation. "Or are you just scared and are going to forfeit?"

Gongenzaka growled and attached his duel disk to his arm. "No one calls me a coward. I will be your opponent," he said firmly.

Yaiba tapped his wooden katana on his shoulder and smirked. "Don't think I'm gonna be the same as those two goody-two-shoes you just fought. If you do, then you'll find yourself hurting. Unlike them, I'm actually strong," he said.

"Why must he imply that we're weak?" Hokuto protested.

"It is annoying," Masumi mused and then glanced at Hokuto. "But, considering you lost, you can't really blame him."

Hokuto immediately went to sulk in the corner.

The Action Field that Shuzo chose that time was Sword's Cemetery—a desolate landscape shrouded in shadows with various blades and hilts sticking out of the ground—even though Kazuki knew enough about Gongenzaka's dueling to know that he wouldn't be using the Action Cards provided by the field. It would completely ruin his deck if he used an Action Card.

Gongenzaka started off the duel by bringing out Superheavy Samurai Kabu-10, a red, brown, and orange samurai machine monster, in Defense Mode and ended his turn, which Yaiba was quick to mock as he started his turn.

Kazuki was shocked when Yaiba successfully brought out two powerful monsters—the Level 7 X-Saber Souza and the Level 9 XX-Saber Gottoms—during his first turn.

"Synchro Summoning," Chairwoman Akaba said as Yaiba and Gongenzaka stared each other down, "is when you use a Tuner monster and tune it with a Synchro material to call forth a monster whose Level is equal to the sum of their Levels from the Extra Deck."

"Wow," Ayu breathed.

"I never knew that," Futoshi said.

Sora hummed.

"Are you scared speechless?" Yaiba taunted.

"A man should stand firm and not panic nor should he run around in an unseemly manner," Gongenzaka said, resolute.

"Then you won't mind if I go all out," Yaiba said with a smirk and entered his Battle Phase, destroying Kabu-10 with Gottoms and then dealing 2500 points of damage from a direct attack from Souza. Souza's X-shaped blast of light pushed Gongenzaka backwards but the bigger man managed to stay on his feet while his sandals dug gouges into the ground.

"Now that is hot-blooded! The foundation of the Gongenzaka Dojo that is our strongest rival!" Shuzo shouted as Yaiba ended his turn with a facedown.

Gongenzaka went on with his turn by Special Summoning Superheavy Samurai Scales from his hand and, through that monster's effect, bringing back Superheavy Samurai Kabu-10. He then tributed them both to bring out Superheavy Samurai Big Benkei, a white-and-orange machine samurai who sat cross legged on the field, in face-up Defense Position.

"Wait, I thought you could only set Defense Position monsters," Futoshi said in puzzlement.

"Big Benkei can be Tribute Summoned in face-up Defense Position," Kazuki explained, listening to Gongenzaka explain the same thing to Yaiba.

Yaiba just scoffed. "What's the point of that? It's not like it can do anything since it's in Defense Position."

"Battle! Big Benkei, attack XX-Saber Gottoms!" Gongenzaka ordered.

"What?" Yaiba exclaimed.

"Big Benkei can attack while in Defense Position and can use its Defense as its Attack," Gongenzaka explained right as Big Benkei destroyed Gottoms and knocked Yaiba's Life Points down to 3600.

"I end my turn," Gongenzaka said.

Yaiba, as the surprise faded, wasn't too fazed by the attack itself and managed to turn things around during his turn. Not only did he bring back XX-Saber Gottoms, but he also increased Gottoms' attack from 3100 to 4100 with the Action Card Extreme Sword.

"Oh no. It's stronger than Big Benkei," Yuzu gasped.

"It's all right. Big Benkei's in Defense Position. Gongenzaka won't take any damage," Yuya assured her.

"You're naive, Sakaki Yuya," Yaiba said. "I activate my facedown Meteorain. This allows my monster to deal piercing battle damage!"

Gottoms' attack crashed into Big Benkei, conjuring up a thick cloud of smoke and flames rose up in the air as Gongenzaka's Life Points fell to 900.  
But when the smoke cleared, Big Benkei was still on the field.

"Why is it still on the field?" Yaiba said in puzzlement.

"I sent Superheavy Samurai Soulfire Suit to the Graveyard to prevent the destruction of one Level 5 or higher Superheavy Samurai monster," Gongenzaka revealed.

"So you sacrificed your hand to protect your ace."

"Yes. However, the monster whose destruction is prevented by Soulfire Suit loses 800 Defense."

Big Benkei's Defense dropped down to 2700 but, as Tatsuya was quick to point out, it was still higher than Souza's Attack.

Yaiba wasn't done yet as he used his wooden katana to displace another Action Card, but the wind generated by Yaiba's swing sent the card flying toward Gongenzaka.

Yaiba cursed.

"Grab it!" Futoshi shouted but Gongenzaka refused to move.

Yaiba darted off and grabbed another Action Card. "Action Magic Extreme Sword! I increase Souza's Attack by 1000," he shouted as he activated the card he'd just grabbed and Souza's Attack jumped up to 3500. "Battle! Souza, attack Big Benkei!"

Big Benkei's destruction will be negated because of Soulfire Suit," Gongenzaka said.

"Even so, you will still take 800 damage because of Meteorain," Yaiba said and the blast of flame from the attack sent Gongenzaka to the ground and dropped his Life Points to 100.

Ayu, Futoshi, and Tatsuya gasped in horror.

"Gongenzaka," Yuzu whispered.

"Now Big Benkei's Defense will get lower," Kazuki said quietly as Big Benkei's Defense was lowered to 1900.

"So you've held out because of the effects of the monsters in your hand. For such a big guy, you've got some small-minded tactics," Yaiba taunted as Gongenzaka pushed himself to his feet.

"That is just how my deck, a deck that I believe in, saved me," he said.

"Then let me put an end to your tricks," Yaiba said an activated Gottoms effect, tributing both Boggart Knight and Ragigura on his field to have Gongenzaka discard both cards in his hand before setting a card and ending his turn.

"If this keeps up, Gongenzaka will lose," Ayu whispered.

"Why didn't he grab that Action Card?" Tatsuya protested.

"That's just how Gongenzaka duels," Yuya said.

Noticing that Tatsuya seemed puzzled, his mouth opened as if about to ask why, Kazuki leaned towards him. "Gongenzaka's deck is composed only of monsters. A single Magic or Trap Card will completely ruin his deck," he explained.

"Wow, really?" Tatsuya said, surprised. "Can he really win without using Magic or Trap Cards?"

"That's the Steadfast Dueling that he uses, so I am confident that he can," Kazuki said, straightening up and turning his gaze back to the duel, watching as Gongenzaka summoned Superheavy Samurai Soul Great Wall and equipped it onto Big Benkei, increasing its Defense by 1200 and causing white flames to surround it as a green shield with rockets attached to one end appeared on one of Big Benkei's arms.

"You're a lucky bastard for drawing that card," Yaiba scoffed.

"It's not luck. My deck understood my determination to win this duel," Gongenzaka said firmly and ordered Big Benkei to attack Souza and Big Benkei shot forward, propelled by the rockets attached to Soul Great Wall, and unleashed a fiery shockwave that burned Souza to ash and dropped Yaiba's Life Points to 3000.

"Way to go, Gongenzaka," Yuya cheered.

"Keep it up," Kazuki said encouragingly.

"Now you've done it," Yaiba said and activated Gottoms' Emergency Call, allowing him to bring back Souza and Ragigura and then, due to Ragigura's effect, he added Faultroll to his hand.

"The ability to summon monsters whether it's his turn or not and turn the tides rather explosively is what makes an X-Saber deck so terrifying," Hokuto commented.

Masumi raised an eyebrow at him. "You rarely compliment someone else's deck. Did losing make you weak?" she asked.

Hokuto immediately went back to sulking in the corner.

"Little-Gon's hand's at zero, though. Can he really win?" Sora wondered, removing a lollipop from his pocket, unwrapping it, and sticking it into his mouth.

"He hasn't given up yet," was all Yuya said.

It was clear that Gongenzaka wasn't giving up, even as Yaiba Synchro Summoned another XX-Saber Gottoms as well as X-Saber Souza to the field and revealed Souza's effect.

"By tributing an X-Saber, Souza gains the ability to destroy any monster it battles regardless of its Attack or Defense. It's time I took out that ace of yours that you're stubbornly defending," Yaiba said. "Battle! Souza, attack Big Benkei!"

"I activate the effect of Soul Great Wall. I can send it to the Cemetery to negate the attack on Big Benkei. However, Big Benkei's Defense will be reduced to zero," Gongenzaka said and the green shield vanished as Souza's blades struck the ground in front of Big Benkei.

"Without any Defense, Big Benkei is nothing. I'll reduce the rest of your Life Points to shreds with my two Gottoms!" Yaiba ordered one of his Gottoms to destroy Big Benkei.

"That was what I was waiting for! I activate the effect of Superheavy Samurai Soul Break Armor!" Gongenzaka declared.

"That's the card I had you discard earlier," Yaiba realized.

"Yes. Soul Break Armor's true strength shows itself when it's in the Cemetery. By banishing this card when I have no Magic or Trap Cards in my Cemetery, I can inflict damage to you equal to the difference between the current and original Defense of a Superheavy Samurai I control!"

A purple-and-yellow machine armor plate on which was a white mask appeared on the field.

"Gongenzaka's gonna win!" Ayu exclaimed.

Futoshi and Tatsuya cheered.

Sora stared in shock, the lollipop falling from his hand and shattering on the ground.

"And that is why Gongenzaka doesn't have any Magic or Trap Cards in his deck, so he can pull off comebacks like this," Kazuki said to Tatsuya.

"That condition is necessary to use the full power of his deck," Yuya added. "That's where Steadfast Dueling's true power lies."

"Wow," Ayu, Tatsuya, and Futoshi breathed while Kazuki listened to Gongenzaka explaining the same thing to Yaiba as a stream of red energy went from Big Benkei to Soul Break Armor and the armor blasted out four orbs of crackling red energy at Yaiba.

"You've got some pretty interesting plays," Yaiba said and slipped a card into his duel disk. "I play Saber Reflection! This allows me to negate effect damage once while I control an X-Saber monster."

Yuya frowned, worry crossing his face. "So he did have something else up his sleeve."

"The reflected damage will be sent back to you," Yaiba added. "This is it."

Gongenzaka closed his eyes and smiled, saying something too low for anyone to hear, before he snapped his eyes open and stated, "I activate the effect of Superheavy Samurai Soul Big Bang in my Graveyard! When I have no Magic or Trap Cards in my Cemetery, I can banish this card to negate the reflected damage!"

Yaiba swore as the damage was negated.

"But that's not all! Soul Big Bang also destroys all monsters on the field and deals damage equal to the total Levels of all monsters on the field times 100 to both players!" Gongenzaka declared.

"That's…!" Yaiba gasped.

"3300!" Sora breathed as a bright explosion erupted in the middle of the arena and, when the smoke cleared, both Yaiba and Gongenzaka were on the ground but the result was the same. Their Life Points were both at zero.

It was a draw.

Yuya darted into the arena to check on Gongenzaka while Shuzo spoke over the intercom to Chairwoman Akaba. "Well, it looks like the results of this best of three match is a win, loss, and draw. So, since we agreed that you would only take You Show if you won and this is a draw, therefore you didn't win, I kindly ask you to leave," he said.

"I will not," Akaba said calmly. "This is the duel to settle everything. It cannot end in a draw."

"But it actually did end in a draw," Shuzo pointed out.

"I propose a tiebreaker," Akaba said as the door opened and Yuya, his goggles resting over his eyes, and Gongenzaka made their way back into the viewing area. "The winner from LDS Kotsu Masumi versus the winner from You Show Sakaki Yuya."

"Yuya..." Yuzu murmured.

While Yuya was wearing his goggles, the determined set of his shoulders told Kazuki that he was willing to agree to the proposal.

"Shall we then?" Akaba said.

Masumi nodded.

"Wait!" a voice said and Kazuki turned at the same time as his brother and watched as a tall slim young man stepped into the viewing area, lowering the hood of his cloak to reveal dark gray hair with lighter gray in the front and red-rimmed rectangular glasses covering his calm purple eyes.

"Reiji?" the chairwoman said in surprise.

"I will put an end to this," Akaba Reiji said calmly.

 **. . .**

 **Next Time: Flames & Doubt**

 **. . .**

 **A/n what do you think?**

 **Blaze: and there you have it. Chapter 3 has been posted**

 **Bakura: and three months will go by before chapter 4 comes out**

 **Blaze: shut up**

 **Yuya: I hope that's not true but it has happened before so...**

 **Yugo: I'm sure it won't be that bad**

 **Yuto: yes, I am sure Blaze will do her best to update before three months has gone by**

 **Yuri: though it is very likely Fusion-kun jinxed it**

 **Yugo: IT'S YUGO, DAMNIT! Call me by my real name already, you grinning bastard!**

 **Yuri: oh no. Your reactions are far too amusing to stop now**

 **Yugo: why you...**

 **Yuto: cool it, you too! Do not start a brawl in the middle of Blaze's computer room**

 **Judai: yeah. Take it outside and try not to kill each other**

 **Yuto: ...**

 **Judai: what?**

 **Blaze: anyway, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. The next chapter is the debut of Misha's second OC deck, and Kenshin's first duel, so that's something to look forward to. Reviews, as always, are much appreciated.**


	4. Flames & Doubt

**Well, sorry about the long wait but I've kinda been working on editing this story and working on my other ARC-V story, that hasn't been posted yet but may or may not be posted soon, and working on my original novel and, well, just _working_ period.**

 **Anyway, thank you to _Guest, Queen of Peaceful Nights,_ and _MagicalPrincess07_ for reviewing the last chapter. You three are awesome.**

 **And, as usual, thank you to Misha for being an awesome beta-reader.**

 **Now it's time for Misha's second "baby" to shine! I hope you enjoy this chapter and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.**

 **Turn 4**

 **Flames & Doubt**

Kenshin was really having bad luck today. Yuto would claim that it wasn't anything new since Kenshin always seemed to invite trouble, even when he didn't mean to. While, at least, today he wasn't getting into trouble with the authorities—he still firmly believed that what happened when he first got to that dimension was not his fault—but that didn't mean that he wasn't in trouble.

"I'm sorry," he said quickly, his cheeks red with embarrassment and he flinched at the glare that he was receiving from the old man who was scowling in front of him. Around him lay broken pieces of pottery and vases that had fallen to the ground when Kenshin accidentally ran into the old man's booth.

"Sorry doesn't cut it, kid," the old man said firmly. "You should have watched where you were going!"

"I know, I know. I'm sorry," Kenshin said again and knelt down, adding, "Here, I'll help you clean it up."

"Don't pick it up with your hands, stupid. You'll cut yourself," the old man said in irritation and, reaching behind the booth, pulled out a dustpan and a broom and handed them to Kenshin. "You're going to have to pay for those, you know."

Kenshin paled and groaned. He didn't have any money at all on him. It wasn't as if he needed any money while he was in Heartland during the invasion. While he had noticed that the currency in the Standard Dimension was the same as the currency in Heartland—and he knew that, despite Yuto joking about not having bail money, he had brought some money with him just in case—Kenshin was not about to call him. The last thing he wanted was to get another lecture about laying low, not drawing attention to himself, and staying out of trouble.

"Erm, I kinda...don't have any money on me," Kenshin admitted, ducking his head in embarrassment again as he began sweeping up the broken pieces of glass and ceramic.

The old man let loose a breath. "You seem like a good kid and I suppose this was just an accident," he said as Kenshin finished sweeping up the pieces and he took the broom and dustpan back and dumped the contents of the dustpan into the trashcan next to his booth. "I'll let you pay me back for all of this by running an errand for me. How does that sound?"

Kenshin tensed, even though the offer was kind enough and he pushed aside his feelings of distrust. He wasn't in Heartland; he didn't have to be jumpy and paranoid of every little thing, even if he had been caught unaware because of such innocent offers in the early days of the invasion.

That one duelist came to his mind who'd offered to help him find survivors only for her to turn around, reveal herself to be an Academia duelist, admit that she'd only used him to find the Resistance's current hideout, and nearly card him without even giving him a chance to defend himself. If Michael hadn't arrived when he had and defeated that duelist in a one-turn-kill before helping Kenshin get out of there, and warn the Resistance so that they could move before the Academia duelist regained consciousness, then Kenshin, and the Resistance itself, might have ended up just like his family and many of his comrades.

Naturally, he'd come to distrust such innocent offers after that.

But he wasn't in Heartland anymore. He was in the Standard Dimension, in Maiami City, in a place untouched by Academia from what he has managed to discover so far.

Forcing himself to relax, Kenshin nodded slowly. "What's this errand?"

"I have a few packages that I need to deliver to my main store. I was going to go, but I didn't want to close up shop here too soon," the old man said, walking behind the booth and pulling out two packages and held them out to Kenshin. "I have a coworker keeping an eye on my store so just give it to him and he can put it away."

"All right. Where's the store?" Kenshin said, taking the boxes in his hands.

The old man gave him directions, detailed ones when Kenshin admitted that he didn't know Maiami City well enough to be able to find a place based only on street names, and he nodded. "Okay," he said. "Thanks, by the way. I really am sorry."

"Just watch where you're going next time, kid," the old man said and waved him away.

"Right." Kenshin inclined his head before darting off, making his way down the street and toward the store that the old man had mentioned.

It took him about twenty minutes to near the street on which the store was located and, as he stepped into the alley that would take him to the street he was heading toward, he was surprised when he ran into a familiar face.

Tall and clad in a dark-blue trench coat, Shun came to a stop in time to avoid running into Kenshin and frowned at him. "What are you doing?" he said.

"Hey, Shun. It's been a while. Have you got in touch with Yuto? He's been trying to contact you," Kenshin said.

"I've been busy. What are you doing?" Shun repeated, raising an eyebrow at the boxes that Kenshin was carrying in his hands.

"Well, I kind of ran into a booth at that marketplace down the road and broke a few of the old man's items, so he asked me to run an errand for him as payment," Kenshin said.

Shun frowned at him. "I thought I told Yuto to keep you out of trouble."

"It was an accident," Kenshin said defensively.

"It usually is. Have you found out anything?"

"No," Kenshin admitted. "Yuto and I are still looking. We did question a kid from LDS, but he doesn't know anything about Academia and has said that everyone has the same pin as the one we found."

"Just because he doesn't know anything doesn't mean the others don't. And how do you know he's not lying?"

"He certainly didn't look like he was lying," Kenshin said, remembering how shaky and puzzled Sawatari looked when Yuto had questioned him.

"Tch. Don't be blinded. Academia has deceived us before. You should know that better than anyone."

Kenshin winced, knowing that Shun was referring to her. He really had thought she was a comrade who just wanted to help, but she'd been deceiving him from the very beginning. He'd very nearly caused the destruction of the Resistance that day because he naively believed that duelist.

That incident was one reason why Kenshin had come to not trust anyone he wasn't well acquainted with.

"I know," he murmured, shifting his grip on the boxes. "Believe me, I know."

Shun folded his arms across his chest, but he did relax. "Just remember that, Kenshin," he said finally and turned to the street that Kenshin was heading toward. "That place you're heading, it's in that direction?"

"Yeah."

"Good. I've overheard a few students talking about two teachers from LDS being in this area. They're teachers from LDS's Fusion Course," Shun said, his lips twisting at the name. "I want you to duel one while I duel the other. One of them should have, at least, some information that could be useful."

"Maybe." Kenshin had told Yuto that he wanted to challenge the LDS teachers for information and this was a good chance to start that. "All right. Let me just drop these off."

Shun just turned and started walking back the way he'd come and Kenshin darted after him. He and Shun walked onto the street and headed down the sidewalk toward where the old man's shop was. Shadows drenched the quiet street and Kenshin was glad for the lack of people on the streets; even if no one really paid attention to him in the middle of a large crowd, Kenshin was still very self-conscious about being around other people he didn't know.

"By the way, other than this, have you found out anything?" Kenshin asked as they neared the shop. It was closed but, as the old man had said, the door was open so Kenshin shouldered it open, joined the coworker, who had gotten a call from the shop owner, who took the boxes and quietly thanked him.

"No," Shun said when Kenshin rejoined him. "This is the only lead that I have found right now. Let's go before they leave this area."

"All right, I'm coming," Kenshin said, closing the door to the shop behind him and joining Shun on the street. The two of them began walking down the street with Shun scanning the street for any signs of the two people they were trying to find.

"Do you even know what they look like?" Kenshin asked finally.

"No, but they are likely the only LDS teachers in this area," Shun said and stopped and slipped into the shadows of an alley and Kenshin joined him. Shun pointed across the street at the corner where two men clad in an LDS uniform that was different from the students, but still had the pin resting on their collars.

"There," he murmured, his hand clenching, but he relaxed and said, "I will take on the taller one. You take on the other."

"Right." Kenshin watched as the two teachers made their way down the side street they'd been standing beside and followed Shun as he led the way across the street into a side street. They darted down the street and rounded the corner before stepping onto the street that the two LDS teachers were in.

The two teachers stepped back.

"Who are you?" the tall one said.

"I will ask the questions here," Shun said coolly, activating his duel disk and facing the taller teacher down. "What is your name? And are you one of the teachers of the Fusion Course at LDS?"

The taller teacher narrowed his eyes. "I'm Professor Marco, and I'm the head of that course," he said.

"Then I will be your opponent. Duel me," Shun said firmly.

Kenshin glanced at Marco's companion and moved forward as well, leaving Shun to deal with Professor Marco while he confronted the other teacher. "Am I right in that you're also a teacher of Fusion at LDS?"

"I am. I'm Professor Tanaka, the Assistant Head of the Fusion Course," the teacher said. "Why do you want to know?"

Kenshin didn't answer. He just activated his duel disk, revealing a red-edged blade. "I challenge you to a duel," he said. "And I won't take no for an answer."

"Fine then. I don't back down from a challenge," Tanaka said and activated his own duel disk.

Kenshin moved away so that he wasn't in Shun's way and Tanaka followed as the duel between Shun and Marco began.

"Duel," Kenshin and Tanaka declared, starting their own duel, as they drew their opening hands.

 ** **Kenshin: 4000 | Tanaka: 4000****

"I will start off," Tanaka said and removed a card from his hand and placed it on his duel disk. "I Normal Summon Masked HERO Dusk Crow."

In a burst of shadows, a slim ninja-like warrior with a black cape around its shoulders appeared on the field (4/1200/1000).

"And next I activate Mask Change! With this, I can send Dusk Crow to the Graveyard to Transformation Summon a Masked HERO from my Extra Deck."

"Transformation Summon, eh? A different kind of Fusion Summon?" Kenshin narrowed his eyes as a vortex of darkness enveloped the masked hero.

" _Hero of the dusk. Become one with the mask of shadows and reveal to us your new form! Transformation Summon! Appear, Level 6! Masked HERO Dark Law!_ " Tanaka chanted as, in a burst of shadows, a dark-armored warrior with a mask covering its eyes and blade-like wings on its back stepped onto the field (6/2400/1800).

"Due to Dark Law's effect, any card sent to your Cemetery is banished instead. I also equip Dark Law with Fusion Weapon, increasing his Attack and Defense by 1500," Tanaka added as a red weapon materialized around Dark Law's arm with light energy crackling between its two prongs (2400-3900/1800-3300).

"I place this facedown and end my turn," Tanaka added, inserting a card into his duel disk. "I'll make this quick."

"You're pretty confident. As expected of an LDS teacher, I suppose," Kenshin said as he drew a card. "Since I control no cards, I can Special Summon Empyrean Angel of Solitude – Cassiel in Attack Mode."

In a burst of white fire, a tall, slim man clad in purplish-gray robes with a halo above his head stepped onto the field, angel-like wings made of white flames jutted out of his back and his bright garnet red eyes glowed (5/2000/1000).

"Since I control an Empyrean monster, I can Special Summon Empyrean Angel of Silence – Dumah from my hand in Attack Mode," Kenshin added and, in another burst of white fire, a woman clad in a long purplish-gray dress and wielding a rod engulfed in white flames appeared with angel-like white-fire wings jutting out of her back (5/1900/900).

"Two Level 5 monsters? Are you…?" Tanaka began.

"I overlay my two Level 5 Empyrean monsters!" Kenshin declared and Dumah and Cassiel turned into red swirls that swirled into the spinning galaxy of purple and black that appeared on the field before a burst of blue lightning erupted from the portal.

" _Healing star of the fiery Heavens. Cleanse the impurity within the enemy's soul! Xyz Summon! Come forth! Rank 5! Raphael, Healer Archangel of Empyrean!_ " Kenshin chanted as, out of the flash of blue lightning, a tall, broad-shouldered figure stepped onto the field. He was clad in purplish-gray robes that fell to his feet with a snow-white sash wrapped around his chest. White-fire angel wings jutted out of his back and a bright halo hovered over his head as his garnet red eyes gleamed. Twin orbs of red light rotated around him (R 5/2700/1700/2 OU).

Tanaka narrowed his eyes.

"I activate Raphael's effect. By detaching one Overlay Unit, I can halve Dark Law's current Attack until the End Phase and I gain Life Points equal to the same amount of Attack lost," Kenshin added and one of the red orbs sank into Raphael and he glowed, raising a hand, as Dark Law glowed as he weakened (3900-1950) while a white light engulfed Kenshin, increasing his Life Points.

 ** **Kenshin: 5950 | Tanaka: 4000****

"Now, Raphael, attack Professor Tanaka! _Cleansing Star Fire!_ " Kenshin ordered and Raphael raised his hand and conjured up white fire around his hand and threw it at Dark Law.

"I activate Battle Fusion!" Tanaka said, revealing his face-down. "This increases the Attack of Dark Law by the Attack of Raphael until the end of the Damage Step!" Dark Law was surrounded by a bright light as his power increased (1950-4650).

Kenshin hummed, narrowing his eyes. "That's not gonna work. I activate the effect of Empyrean Angel of Virtuosity – Pahaliah! By banishing this card from my hand, I can target Raphael. Now he can't be destroyed by battle or by card effects once during this turn."

Raphael was surrounded by a white fire figure who wrapped angel wings around him as the white fire he threw at Dark Law closed in on his target.

"And due to Raphael's effect, you take any battle damage that I would have taken from battles involving a face-up Empyrean monster," Kenshin said with a grin as the white fire crashed into Dark Law. Dark Law cut through it with his hand but the white flames shot around him and crashed into Tanaka, sending him skidding backwards.

 ** **Kenshin: 5950 | Tanaka: 2050****

"Those flames...why did I actually feel that heat?" Tanaka said in puzzlement, staring in shock at Kenshin who held up a card.

"It's still my Battle Phase and I activate this card! The Instant Magic Rank-Down-Magic Fallen Force!" he declared. "With this, I can Rank-Down an Empyrean Xyz Monster I control and Xyz Summon another Empyrean Xyz Monster with a lower Rank!"

"An Xyz Summon during the Battle Phase?" Tanaka gasped.

"I use Raphael, Healer Archangel of Empyrean as Overlay material!" Kenshin declared as Raphael turned into a red swirl and swirled into the spiraling galaxy that had appeared on the field before blue lighting erupted from the heart of the portal.

" _Fallen star of the fiery Heavens, bathe the land in the light of your eternal glow! Rank Down Xyz Change! Descend! Rank 4! Lucifer, Fallen Dragon of Empyrean!_ " Kenshin chanted and, out of the flash of blue lightning, flew a large purplish-gray dragon with giant angel-like wings made of white fire spreading to illuminate the shadowed street, conjuring up a strong, warm wind that whipped at Tanaka and Kenshin. White fire ran along the spine of the dragon and two spikes of white fire jutted out of the end of the dragon's tail while its eyes were the color of garnets (R 4/2500/1500/2 OU).

Tanaka frowned. "Why would you summon a weaker monster, though?"

"He's not weak," Kenshin said. "And since Lucifer was Xyz Summoned, I can add one of my banished Empyrean cards to my hand. I chose Empyrean Angel of Virtuosity – Pahaliah." He retrieved the card and added, "And it's still my Battle Phase and this is the end! Battle! Lucifer, attack Dark Law! _Fallen Star Fire!_ "

Lucifer's jaw glowed a bright white as it prepared to unleash a devastating attack.

"The end? You must be joking," Tanaka said with a snort. "Even if Dark Law's weaker, I will still only lose 550 Life Points.

"Due to Fallen Force's other effect, Dark Law's effects are negated until after the Battle Phase. I don't know what effects your monster has, but I'm not chancing it," Kenshin added.

"I'll still survive," Tanaka said as he gritted his teeth and shielded himself from the flames that crashed into Dark Law, obliterated him, and sent Tanaka skidding backwards. "I...Why did I feel that attack even though we're not in an Action Field?"

 ** **Kenshin: 5950 | Tanaka: 1500****

He shook his head to clear it while Kenshin ignored the question and picked a card in his hand. Tanaka gazed at him. "But still, I'll just come back and beat you on my next turn," he said smugly.

"There won't be a next turn," Kenshin said and snorted a bit when he realized he'd said the exact same thing that Yuto said during his duel against Sawatari. "I activate Empyrean Strike! By discarding one card, I can have Lucifer make a second attack during this Battle Phase since it was able to destroy one of your monsters just now."

"W...What?" Tanaka gasped. "W...Wait..."

"Battle! Lucifer, attack him directly! _Fallen Star Fire!_ " Kenshin ordered and Lucifer's jaw glowed a bright white before he unleashed another powerful blast of white flames that scorched the ground and crashed into Tanaka and threw him off his feet while knocking out the last of his Life Points.

 ** **Kenshin: 5950 W | Tanaka: 0****

Kenshin grimaced when he saw that Tanaka, while still conscious, seemed rather dazed from his collision with the floor, and he turned to see how Shun was faring.

"Raid Raptors – Rise Falcon! Destroy the enemy! _Brave Claw Revolution!_ " Shun shouted and, with a screech, the deadly falcon monster shot downward and obliterated Marco's monsters, and threw Marco to the ground, taking out the rest of his Life Points.

"Looks like you didn't need any help," Kenshin commented.

Shun gave him a sharp look, but approached the teacher instead and raised his duel disk.

"W...What are you doing?" Marco gasped.

"Shun!" Kenshin, realizing what Shun was about to do, protested, but it was too late and he shivered as the dreaded purple light that still filled his nightmares erupted out of Shun's duel disk and engulfed the terrified Marco. Marco vanished and Shun reached into his Duel Disk, pulling out a card and tucking the card away.

"Why have you not done the same to this one?" Shun said as he walked to Kenshin's side and peered coolly down at Tanaka, who was staring in horror at where Marco had been moments before. "You have the capability."

"I just want information," Kenshin said. "I'm with Yuto. This isn't our battlefield, and I certainly don't want to hurt someone who isn't an enemy."

"He is the enemy. He uses Fusion, and a specialized form of Fusion, at that. I saw your duel, Kenshin, and I saw that different kind of Fusion this teacher used," Shun said with a scowl. "Fusion is our enemy, or have you forgotten that? Have you forgotten what Fusion has done to our homeland?"

"Of course I haven't!" Kenshin snapped. "But the duelists of Standard are not our enemy!"

"That we know of," Shun said darkly and aimed the duel disk at Tanaka.

"Wait! We can still get information out of him," Kenshin insisted.

Shun scoffed but lowered his duel disk. "Fine. Get the information out of him and then I'll deal with him."

"Shun..." Kenshin trailed off when he saw the fury in Shun's icy yellow-green eyes and bit his lip, knowing he wouldn't be able to talk Shun out of this. He turned and knelt down in front of the terrified Tanaka and said, "What do you know of Academia?"

"A...Academia? What are you talking about?" Tanaka said with puzzlement in his voice and, when Kenshin frowned at him, he added quickly, "I swear I don't know anything. Please, have mercy."

Kenshin let loose a breath when he saw that Tanaka was too terrified to lie to him just like Sawatari had been, except Tanaka's terror was stronger because he'd just witnessed his fellow teacher vanish before his very eyes and was in front of the very person who'd done that.

"He's either telling the truth, or he's lying and won't talk," Shun said and stepped forward, raising his duel disk. "You're not going to get anything out of him."

"Shun, you don't need to do this," Kenshin pleaded.

"I will do anything to get Ruri back and put an end to Academia for what they did to our Homeland."

"He's not the enemy!"

"You don't know that!"

"Shun!" Kenshin stretched out a hand to stop Shun, but he swatted his hand away.

"Don't interfere, Kenshin. You and Yuto may believe that this is not our battlefield, but I refuse to believe that and I refuse to let an enemy get away," Shun snapped and pressed the key on his duel disk before Kenshin could stop him. He could only watch as the purple light engulfed the terrified Tanaka and then he was gone.

Shun turned to glare at Kenshin. "It's about time you opened your eyes, Kenshin. The last time you closed your eyes to what was right in front of you, you nearly caused the destruction of the entire Resistance," he snapped and Kenshin flinched at the reminder. "You may be my comrade, but you have to realize that there is a chance that everyone you encounter could be your enemy."

"I don't want to believe that," Kenshin said quietly.

"Whether you want to believe that or not doesn't matter," Shun said and turned his head away. "Tell Yuto that I'm fine and I will try to contact him again soon. And you should get out of here before someone comes by and starts investigating." He strode off and disappeared into the shadows before Kenshin could reply.

Kenshin let loose a breath. "Shun… I don't really like the path that you're walking," he said but turned around and darted down the street, knowing Shun was right and he needed to get out of there before someone came by to check on the commotion.

 **. . .**

Yuzu watched the duel between Akaba Reiji and Yuya, chewing on her lower lip in worry. Even with Reiji Fusion Summoning D/D/D Flame King Temujin on his first turn, the duel seemed to be in Yuya's favor, with the four Contract cards that Reiji had played during his first turn, and Yuya's first turn, threatening to finish the duel right away.

He even mentioned that Yuya was a kind boy who could have won by ending his turn after Contract with the Valkyrie was activated, but Yuya had hesitated. Even so, whether Yuya hesitated or not didn't change the fact that Reiji had set things up to ensure that he didn't get dealt damage from his Contract cards. He nullified them with the effect of his Trap Card Contract Laundering.

Yuya didn't seem to mind as he closed his eyes and smiled a little bit. "I knew it was too good to be true, but I wouldn't have been happy if I'd won that way," he said and opened his eyes, that smile still on his lips as he added, "That meant I wouldn't be able to show off the Entertainment Dueling that everyone is looking forward to."

He grinned and added, "Yeah, it may seem like a naive way to think like that, but I want to win with the Entertainment Dueling that was passed down from my father."

"With Sakaki Yushou's dueling?" Reiji said.

Yuya's eyes widened. "You know my dad?"

"Of course he does. Everyone does," Yaiba scoffed. "He's famous after all."

"He's the former champion who ran away," Hokuto added.

"Silence!" Reiji shouted, causing everyone to freeze and look at him in shock.

"Idiots," Masumi said with a shake of her head.

Reiji kept his gaze fixed on Yuya as he adjusted his glasses. "Pardon my outburst but, yes, I am aware of Sakaki Yusho who pioneered our current Action Dueling. I respect him from the bottom of my heart. And I will have you show it to me today, the Entertainment Dueling you inherited from your father! In exchange, I will reveal to you my full power."

"Wait, does that mean… has he been holding back?" Kazuki gasped.

As it turned out, Reiji was holding back as, during his next turn, Reiji did what no one was expecting.  
He Synchro Summoned D/D/D Gust King Alexander.

And he Xyz Summoned D/D/D Wave King Caesar.

"H...He can use all three Summoning Methods," Kazuki said in shock.

"Yuya..." Yuzu whispered, also completely shocked by the sudden appearance of three powerful monsters Special Summoned by the effect of three different Summoning Methods. She didn't know much about the President of Leo Corporation, but she certainly wasn't expecting him to be as strong as he was. To be able to use all three Summoning Methods was something that Yuzu had never seen happen before and she found herself feeling worried for Yuya.

"He's certainly a strong opponent," Sora commented.

"Battle!" Reiji said as he adjusted his glasses. "D/D/D/ Flame King Temujin, attack Entermate Whip Viper."

Temujin's sword glowed with fire, causing Whip Viper, who was wrapped around Yuya's arm, to tremble, but Yuya pressed a button on his duel disk, activating Hippo Carnival to bring out three Hippo Tokens, which were the only monsters that Reiji could attack due to the Magic Card's effect. Three Hippo's dressed in skirts and bikini-like tops with different colored feathers on their backs appeared on the field; one was orange, another was blue, and the third was yellow with green, yellow, and pink feathers respectively.

Yuzu let loose the breath she'd been holding. With those tokens on the field being the only monsters that Reiji could attack, and with them being in Defense Position, Yuya was safe for the time being. She could only hope that he would find a way to counter Reiji's three powerful monsters during his next turn.

"At least he's safe for now," Kazuki murmured, watching as Temujin bisected one of the Tokens and Alexander destroyed the second token.

Kazuki's relief was short-lived as Reiji activated Alexander's effect, allowing him to destroy the third token with a single slash. Caesar attacked next, destroying Whip Viper and causing Yuya's Life Points to fall to 3300.

"Dang it! He's managed to destroy all of Big Bro Yuya's monsters," Futoshi gasped.

"He really is a strong opponent," Kazuki said. "And yet...he's a pretty amazing duelist. I wonder how I would fare against him." He looked thoughtful but shook his head and added, "But Yuya's not out of this match yet. He still has his own power."

Yuzu nodded in agreement.

"Your true strength is really amazing," Yuya admitted with a grin. "I was shocked that you can use all three summoning methods. My draw!" He drew a card and grinned, adding, "I may not be able to use Fusion, Synchro, or Xyz, but I do have my own unique power. The fun has only just begun!"

"There is it! Keep it up, Yuya! Hot-blooded!" Shuzo shouted from the booth.

"It's coming," Tatsuya exclaimed.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" Yuya declared. "So sorry to keep you waiting, but now it is time for what you have all been waiting for!" He held two cards up and added, "With the Scale 1 Stargazer Magician and the Scale 8 Timegazer Magician, I set the Pendulum Scale! Now I can Special Summon multiple monsters from Levels 2 to 7. _Sway, pendulum of the soul. Draw an arc of light across the ether! Pendulum Summon! Come forth, my monsters!_ "

Two blasts of light emerged onto the field revealing Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon who roared as its dichromatic eyes shone and Entermate Fire Mufflio, a white lion in a blue suit with a mane made of flames and a hat resting on its head. It had 800 Attack and 800 Defense.

"There it is!" Tatsuya cheered.

"Shivers!" Futoshi said.

"Big Bro Yuya brought out a new monster too," Ayu said with a grin.

"It's time for a counterattack, Yuya!" Yuzu shouted.

"Let's go, Yuya! Win this," Kazuki cheered.

"Do it, Yuya," Gongenzaka encouraged.

"We're all counting on you," Shuzo called.

Spotlights shone down on Yuya as he gestured to the monsters on the field. "It's time for some fire acrobatics with everyone's favorite superstar Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon," he said and, donning his goggles, dove off the platform he'd been standing on, landing lightly on Odd-Eyes' back. "Let's go, Odd-Eyes! Attack Flame King Temujin! With those dual-colored eyes of yours, lay waste to all that lies before you. Spiral Strike Burst!"

A powerful burst of crimson fire shot toward Temujin, who immediately lifted his sword to catch it.

"And when Odd-Eyes battles a Level 5 or higher monster, the battle damage is doubled!" Yuya declared. "Reaction Force!"

A reddish-black flame enveloped the crimson fire as the fire crashed into Temujin and obliterated it, dropping Reiji down to 3000 Life Points.

"Yuya's turning the tides," Ayu cheered.

"And he's not done yet. Mufflio's effect will help him turn the tides even more," Kazuki said as Yuya activated Mufflio's effect, allowing a Pendulum Monster that just destroyed a monster by battle to battle again with 200 more Attack. Mufflio roared and let loose an aura of flames that morphed into a ring of fire and Odd-Eyes jumped through the ring as its attack jumped up to 2700.

Yuzu smiled, looking impressed. "So you used such a move to power up Odd-Eyes? Nice one, Yuya," she said.

"He truly is a wild animal, no dragon tamer," Gongenzaka commented.

"It's real entertainment, burning and hot-blooded!" Shuzo exclaimed.

Yuya had Odd-Eyes attack Alexander and, with Odd-Eyes' effect, Alexander was destroyed and Reiji's Life Points fell to 2600.

Yuya kept the momentum going by snatching an Action Card and, after exclaiming that he was on a roll, used the Action Card Wonder Chance to allow Odd-Eyes to attack again, and sent Odd-Eyes after Caesar and destroyed it, dropping Reiji's Life Points to 2300 and causing the children to cheer.

"Even if Akaba Reiji controls all three summoning methods, so long as Yuya has Pendulum Summoning, You Show will be safe," Yuzu said firmly.

"Definitely," Kazuki said, a soft half-smile on his lips and Yuzu smiled at that. It was rare to see Kazuki smile, and it seemed that it was only ever when Yuya was dueling that Kazuki was able to smile.

Yuya dismounted from Odd-Eyes and informed everyone that Mufflio couldn't attack the turn he used his effect so he ended his turn and bowed deeply.

The smoke on Reiji's side of the field cleared up and Yuya gasped, as did Kazuki, Yuzu, Gongenzaka, Shuzo, and the kids.

All three of Reiji's monsters were still on his field.

"Why?" Yuya said in confusion.

"He just destroyed them," Tatsuya protested.

"I used Caesar's effect. By detaching an Overlay Unit, I can Special Summon all monsters that were destroyed during this Battle Phase at the end of it. Of course, there is a risk. During my next turn, I will take 1000 points of damage for each one," Reiji said, adjusting his glasses.

"But that means he'll lose," Futoshi said.

"Doubt it. He likely has something to prevent that from happening like what he used earlier," Kazuki said, gritting his teeth, his lips curved into a frown.

"Yeah. He's too good to allow himself to lose like that," Sora said, removing a chocolate bar from his pocket and biting into it.

Reiji proved both Sora and Kazuki correct by activating D/D/D Human Resources and returning all three of his monsters to his deck and allowing him to add two D/D monsters from his deck to his hand.

Kazuki's frown deepened.

"Keep it up, Yuya," Yuzu cheered. "Make it through this with a smile on you face and with your Entertainment Dueling."

"I end my turn with a card facedown. You know you really are amazing. Everything you've done has definitely surpassed what I was expecting. I'm looking forward to what surprises you have in store for me next." He chuckled and added, "Just kidding."

"Likewise. You have done well, Sakaki Yuya. You have allowed me to see the nature of Pendulum Summoning with my own eyes. It's your turn. It's time for you to confirm with your own eyes if Pendulum Summoning really is unique or not," Reiji said as he drew a card and then revealed the two cards he'd added to his hand during the previous turn.

"I don't like the sound of that," Kazuki murmured. "I'm having a bad feeling about that."

"Yuya..." Yuzu's worry came back. Whatever Reiji was about to do, it wasn't going to bode well for Yuya. She was sure about that.

"With the Scale 1 D/D Savant Galilei and the Scale 10 D/D Savant Kelper, I set the Pendulum Scale," Reiji declared and set the cards on his duel disk while Yuzu, Kazuki, and the kids all gasped in shock. Two pillars of light appeared on either side of Reiji as Savant Galilei and Savant Kelper appeared within each with a 1 and a 10 hovering beneath them respectively.

"Now I am able to simultaneously Special Summon multiple monsters from Levels 2 to 9," Reiji added.

"Those are Pendulum Monsters!" Gongenzaka exclaimed.

"This can't be," Yuzu gasped.

Sora nearly dropped his chocolate in surprise.

"How? How does he know how to Pendulum Summon?" Kazuki murmured.

"Grand power which shakes my very soul! Arise within me and give birth to a new light that rends the darkness! Pendulum Summon! Come before me, my monsters!" As Reiji chanted, a giant mass of purple light shot out of the sky between the two pillars. "The three transcendent deities who rules over all kings! D/D/D Death Great King Hell Armageddon!"

Three crystalline monsters appeared one after another, each of them having 3000 Attack.

Yuya looked on shock. "H...How can you Pendulum Summon?" he stammered out.

"Battle!" Reiji declared. "Armageddon, attack Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"

The first crystalline monster charged up a blast at its core and Yuzu leaned forward, slamming her fists on the glass when she noticed that Yuya was in shock and wasn't making any moves to defend himself.

"Snap out of it, Yuya!" she shouted.

Yuya blinked and, realizing the danger, darted away and dove toward an Action Card laying on the ground. "Action Magic Miracle! My monster's destruction is negated and the battle damage is halved," he shouted as he activated the card and winced at eight strand of purple and black lightning crashed into and through Odd-Eyes and crashed into him, sending him skidding backwards as his Life Points fell to 3050.

"Miracles only happen once," Reiji said and ordered his second D/D/D Death Great King Hell Armageddon to attack and it succeeded in destroying Odd-Eyes, reducing Yuya to 2550 Life Points, before the third crystalline monster successfully destroyed Mufflio, reducing Yuya's Life Points to 350.

Yuya, knocked down by that last attack, pushed himself to his knees and gazed at Reiji. "Who are you? How can you use Pendulum Summoning?" he asked.

"I set this facedown and end my turn," Reiji said.

"Yuya..." Yuzu whispered, clenching her hands into fists. For Yuya to witness someone successfully using their own Pendulum cards must have been shocking. While Sawatari had been successful in Pendulum Summoning, he hadn't been using his own cards like Reiji was. She had thought that Pendulum Summoning was Yuya's alone as well, but she found herself wondering the same thing Yuya and Kazuki were wondering.

She glanced at Kazuki who had a contemplative look in his eyes. "What's wrong?" she said.

"I'm just...I know I told Yuya that I had wondered what it would be like if Pendulum became mainstream like Fusion, Synchro, and Xyz, but I wasn't exactly expecting that to happen this soon," Kazuki admitted.

"Now that Reiji-san has mastered Pendulum Summoning to this extent, we won't need You Show anymore," Chairwoman Akaba commented and smirked at the You Show students, and Gongenzaka, as she added, "Now we can just crush you."

"Yuya's not out of this yet," Kazuki snapped back.

"He is no match for Reiji-san now," Akaba said dismissively.

"Yuya! The match is still going on! Keep burning and be hot-blooded," Shuzo shouted from the control booth and Yuzu turned to find Yuya shaking his head as if to clear it.

"My move," he said and drew a card. He nodded to himself and raised a hand. "With the set Pendulum Scale, I Pendulum Summon! Come back to the stage, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon and Entermate Fire Mufflio as well as, from my hand, Entermate Partnaga!" he declared, and Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, Entermate Fire Mufflio, and Entermate Partnaga, a yellow striped snake wearing a top hat with a hand on the end of its tail, appeared on the field.

Yuya activated the effect of Partnaga, increasing Odd-Eyes' Attack by 300 times the number of Entermate monsters he controls, increasing Odd-Eyes' power to 3100. Yuya smiled in determination and Yuzu smiled as well as she realized that Yuya likely had a plan.  
 _Go for it, Yuya_ , she thought as Yuya had Odd-Eyes attack the first Armageddon, successfully destroying it and reducing Reiji's Life Points to 2100.

He might have won that turn had Reiji not revealed Armageddon's effect. "When one of my monsters is destroyed, the remaining Armageddon's on my field gain the Attack of the destroyed monster," Reiji revealed as a dark energy surrounded the two monsters and Yuzu gasped as both monsters' Attack doubled.

"6000!" Tatsuya gasped.

"How can anyone beat that monster?" Futoshi exclaimed.

"This is going to be rough," Sora commented and, when Yuzu glanced at him, she saw excitement in his green eyes. She bit her lip and returned her gaze back to the duel because, no matter how exciting the duel was turning out to be, she couldn't help but feel worried. She didn't know how Yuya was going to get out of this situation.

Yuya ended his turn and Reiji drew a card.

But then his Pendulum Monsters started to shake as lightning surged around them, causing Galilei's Scale to double to 2 and Kepler to halve to five. Strikes of lighting shot onto the field and destroyed the two Armageddons on the field.

"Hm, the destruction of those monsters must have had to do with the change in those Pendulum scales," Sora commented.

"This is your chance, Yuya," Gongenzaka shouted.

"He can only Pendulum Summon Level 3 and Level 4 monsters now," Yuzu added.

"You can win this now," Kazuki called.

Reiji hummed as he studied the two Pendulum Monsters in the columns of blue light. He then began to laugh, covering his face with one of his hands, while Yuzu's brow furrowed in confusion.

 _ _Why is he laughing?__ she thought.

"I get it...why didn't I see it before? Pendulum Summoning is not complete yet," Reiji said finally, removing his hand from his face and smiling.

"What?" Yuya gasped in shock.

"I've seen the possibility for an evolution in Pendulum Summoning," Reiji said.

Yuzu missed whatever Reiji was about to say when the door opened and a man with black hair in a suit made his way swiftly into the viewing area. He walked straight to Chairwoman Akaba and leaned close to him, whispering something that Yuzu couldn't hear.

"What did you say?" Chairwoman Akaba gasped.

Masumi gasped, obviously having overheard what the newcomer had said. "Professor Marco and Professor Tanaka were..." she began, but cut off.

"What?" Yaiba exclaimed.

"What about 'em?" Hokuto said in surprise.

"Reiji-san!" Chairwoman Akaba shouted and the man in the suit quietly explained whatever was happening to Reiji. Yuzu still couldn't hear what they were saying, since they were speaking too quietly, and had to wonder who Professor Marco and Professor Tanaka were. She only heard those names because Masumi's exclamation hadn't been quiet.

Reiji jumped off the platform and, using the floating balls in the arena, made his way to the ground and headed for the exit.

"Where are you going?" Yuya protested, moving forward. "Wait!"

"I'll give you this win," Reiji said as he kept on walking.

"What's your name?" Yuya said.

Reiji stopped. "Reiji," he said finally. "Akaba Reiji." He left the arena and joined his mother and the three LDS students. "Let's go."

The chairwoman nodded in agreement and she, Reiji, and the three LDS students quickly left the school, leaving behind a puzzled group of You Show students, and Gongenzaka, who were left to watch them leave with no clue of what was happening.

 **. . .**

Yuto made his way into the building that he and Kenshin were using as their hideout. He'd gotten back a few hours earlier than their suggested meet-up time so he wasn't expecting Kenshin to be back yet.

So he was a bit surprised when he stepped into the room to find Kenshin seated on his cot with a pensive expression on his face and his brow furrowed. "You're back early, Kenshin," Yuto said as he walked over to join his friend.

"So are you," Kenshin said absently.

"What's wrong?" Yuto asked as he sat down beside Kenshin. "Something seems to be bothering you."

Kenshin sighed and glanced at his duel disk. "Was it really a good idea to add that mechanism to our duel disks?" he said.

"What mechanism?"

"The same one that Academia was using on us."

Yuto grimaced as he realized what Kenshin was referring to. "We only did it as an absolute last resort," he said quietly. "I don't like that function anymore than you do and I don't plan on ever using it myself."

"Me neither," Kenshin said. "It brings back...way too many bad memories. My family, my comrades..." He trailed off and clenched his hand into a fist as he whispered, "I just wish Shun would see the problem with using that function. He seems to think it's all right, but...I don't understand why he doesn't see how wrong it is."

"Shun? Kenshin, what happened?" Yuto asked, sitting down beside his friend.

"I ran into Shun today," Kenshin said. "He asked me to help him out, saying he overheard two LDS students talking about two of the LDS Fusion course teachers being in the area and asked me to help him interrogate them." He went on to explain about his duel against Professor Tanaka and Shun's duel against Professor Marco as well as what Shun did afterwards.

Yuto's grim expression darkened. "I see… He really has completely ignored my warning," he said quietly and shook his head as he glanced at Kenshin. "I think he's not seeing how what he's doing is wrong because he's too blinded by his rage. He believes that the enemy deserves the same fate that they gave to our comrades, no matter how wrong that is."

"Yeah, I guess. They didn't even know anything," Kenshin said. "Well, Shun didn't even question Professor Marco and Professor Tanaka didn't have any information. I'm starting to worry that there isn't any information to be found in this dimension."

Yuto placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Don't think like that, Kenshin," he said. "Don't lose hope. We will find out where Ruri is and we will find a way to defeat Academia and avenge the comrades that we have lost. It'll just take time."

Kenshin sighed and smiled a little. "Sorry. I don't mean to sound so pessimistic or whatever," he said and glanced at Yuto. "What should we do next?"

"For now, I believe we should lay low. I have no doubt that what Shun did to those two professors is going to have the city on high alert," Yuto said.

"Probably. Hopefully, Shun realizes that and lays low himself," Kenshin commented.

"While I hope he does, I have this odd feeling he won't. At least, not entirely."

"Probably not." Kenshin's stomach growled and he flushed while Yuto chuckled.

"Someone's hungry," he said and stood up. "Come on. I ran into that lady from earlier and she told me that if we were hungry then we can stop by her restaurant and she would give us some food."

"Really? She really is nice," Kenshin said. "Won't it hurt her business if we don't pay for it?"

"She said that we could wash the dishes afterwards as payment. Try not to break them."

"Why must you always say something like that?" Kenshin whined.

Yuto just gave him a deadpan look.

"Break some of Mom's plates one time and you just can't let it go."

"Need I remind you of just how many 'some' actually was?"

Kenshin flushed again. "Anyway," he said quickly, waving a hand as if attempting to wave away the subject, "Why don't we go and get something to eat?"

Yuto nodded and led the way out of the building. He scanned the darkening street as he made his way down it with Kenshin at his side. Maiami City was what Heartland used to be like, even when there weren't as many duels going on throughout the city. It was still filled with people smiling, laughing, and having good time.

Yuto didn't know how many times he'd come across a family enjoying a day in the park or a nice dinner at a nice restaurant. It reminded him of the time he spent with Kenshin and the Kurosaki siblings. Since he didn't have a family of his own, he didn't know what happened to his parents and no one else seemed to know themselves, they had become like a family to him.

It made him feel homesick.

His home was in ruins because of Academia.

Academia…

Yuto pushed the rage he felt away and focused on making it to the restaurant. He pushed open the door and the lady behind the serving counter smiled in greeting. "Hello," she said. "This must be your companion. Welcome. Go ahead and take a seat anywhere."

"Thank you, madam," Yuto said and led the way to one of the tables at the far corner of the restaurant. The restaurant was moderately sized but wasn't too busy at that time of day. There were only a few groups there; a small family of three already eating their dinners, a couple of teenagers looking over the menu, and a small group of officers sipping at drinks.

"This is a nice place. Reminds me of Mom's restaurant," Kenshin said quietly as he sat down at the table and Yuto sat down next to him.

"I remember. Your mother used to always give me, Shun, and Ruri a free dessert just because," Yuto commented.

"Yeah." Kenshin's eyes glittered with sadness and Yuto gazed at him sympathetically. He didn't know what it felt like to actually have parents, to actually have a family, since the closest thing he had to family where the friends he'd made while at the Spade Branch. But, just because he didn't know what it was like to have a family, he did feel for Kenshin; for him to lose his family in front of his eyes was likely terrible.

Changing the subject, he said, "I wonder if there are a lot of duel schools in this city. All everyone has talked about is LDS and yet one of the people I spoke with said that he attended a cooking school that taught dueling as well."

"A cooking school that teaches dueling?" Kenshin said in surprise and chuckled as the sadness faded from his eyes. "Now that's something I never thought would exist. If that's the case, I really am curious about what other schools exist in this city."

The lady came over and Yuto was finally able to get a glimpse of her name tag: Nicole. "Thank you, Madam Nicole," he said politely as he took the menu.

"You're welcome. Order what you like and, after closing today, you can pay me back by doing the dishes like you said," Nicole said.

"Of course," Yuto assured her and began scanning the menu while Kenshin was doing the same.

"Would you like something to drink?" Nicole said and, once she'd taken Yuto and Kenshin's drink orders, she walked away to place the order while Yuto and Kenshin scanned the menus in their hands.

 **. . .**

Kazuki watched Yuya's duel against Shuzo, one hand resting idly on the pendant around his neck. He toyed with it almost self-consciously, his thoughts once again drifting as they have been doing off and on all day today. The fact that Reiji revealed himself capable of Pendulum Summoning, as well as having Pendulum cards of his own, was still a bit of a surprise, but it also brought to mind what Kazuki had told Yuya after his duel against Strong Ishijima.

 _It seems that Pendulum Summoning is on its way to becoming mainstream if LDS is already producing prototype Pendulum cards_ , Kazuki thought. He knew that was why Shuzo was dueling Yuya; the principal was hoping to get through to Yuya that it wasn't the end of the world just because Pendulum summoning was no longer Yuya's alone. Yuya was still the one who created it and that was something that no one could take away from him.

When Shuzo activated the Action Card Illusion Dance that forced all monsters on the field into Defense Position, and caused all monsters to start dancing, he began to dance himself while inviting Yuya to join him, insisting that was the way of making the audience smile, the Yushou-style Action Duel. Kazuki had to chuckle a little bit because, while it wasn't quite like his dad's style of dueling, it did remind him a bit of his dad's dueling style.

Yuzu scowled as her paper fan appeared in her hand. "Why is Dad so full of himself?" she demanded.

"Shuzo is always like that," a soft voice said and Kazuki turned to find his mom stepping into the viewing area. He blinked and then briefly remembered that Yuzu had called someone right before Yuya's duel against the principal began.

 _She must have called Mom, probably to help snap Yuya out of this funk he's in_ , he thought.

"Shuzo wants to get his message across more stylishly," Yoko explained.

"What message?" Yuzu wondered.

"I think I know what he's trying to tell Yuya," Kazuki said, turning his gaze back to the duel just as Shuzo used the Stargazer Magician and Timegazer Magician to Pendulum Summon while still talking with Yuya. "He wants Yuya to understand that, because he created Pendulum Summoning, he should be the one to set an example for everyone else to follow, just like Dad did, right?"

"Pretty much, yes," Yoko said, a small smile on her lips, as Shuzo explained to Yuya that Yushou had been overjoyed when others started Action Dueling and that, as a result, he set out to polish his skills.

"Everyone around him started to follow his example and made Action Dueling the way it is today through diligent training." Shuzo smiled and added, "Only the best know what it's like being the best and you should try your hardest to reach that goal. As the one who pioneered Pendulum Summoning, you have to set an example for those who want to follow and hone your skills so that, the next time you face Akaba Reiji, you will be able to defeat him. And with this, I end my turn."

"Wait, what?" Ayu said.

"After going through all that trouble of Pendulum Summoning, he ends his turn?" Futoshi said, surprised.

"He is still rather tactless," Yoko commented.

"I see. He didn't have to go through all the trouble of Pendulum Summoning," Tatsuya said.

"There are more important things than winning. If Shuzo didn't have that mindset, he wouldn't be as good a duelist as he is," Yoko said and turned around, heading toward the door.

"Where are you going?" Kazuki said in surprise.

"Home. It's not my time to chime in yet," his mother said and left.

Yuya's duel against Shuzo ended with Yuya's victory and a rather melodramatic moment when Shuzo faked falling unconscious to which Yuzu, who had walked into the arena after the Action Field dissipated, responded by whacking him in the face with her paper fan.

"Don't die like that," she exclaimed.

"Ow!" Shuzo whined, clutching at his face.

Kazuki winced.

Yuya smiled a little. "Thanks, Principal," he said, "and I promise that I will train harder than anyone else to set an example for everyone to follow and so that I can also make the audience smile like Dad someday."

"Yuya..." Yuzu murmured and then a look of determination crossed her face.

Kazuki also nodded, feeling determination to become stronger and train harder. He may not have taken part in the four duels to defend You Show, but that didn't mean that he wouldn't train himself. He would get stronger and he would try his hardest to make his dad proud of him.

 **. . .**

A few days passed by since the duels to defend You Show and it found Kazuki, Yuya, and Yuzu seated outside in the courtyard of Maiami Second. Yuya was happily digging into his lunch while Yuzu was wrinkling her nose in disgust at how quickly Yuya was eating, and the fact that he was talking about his goal with his mouth full. Kazuki, eating at a more sedated pace, sweatdropped and shook his head.

"I thought Mom taught you better manners than that," he said dryly.

"It's times like these that I wonder how you two are twins," Yuzu said finally.

"Me too."

A handkerchief suddenly appeared in Yuzu and Kazuki's field of vision and they turned to find the one person Yuzu definitely was not in the mood to interact with.

Sawatari Shingo stood in front of them, holding the handkerchief and smiling. "Hello, Hiiragi Yuzu," he greeted her.

Yuzu turned her head away with a disgusted look in her eyes.

"You..." Kazuki scowled.

"You are rather uncouth in front of a lady, not just in your eating habits, but also in your dueling," Sawatari said, turning his gaze to Yuya.

Yuya swallowed a bit of food and frowned at Sawatari. "I know I'm not the cleanest eater," he said. "But my dueling is not the same way."

"Doubtful. I hear you attacked someone else," Sawatari said.

"No he didn't," Yuzu snapped. __Who else was attacked?__ she thought.

"Who else was attacked?" Kazuki asked, as if echoing her thought.

"Two LDS Fusion Summon teachers," Sawatari explained, leaning back and tucking his hands, and the handkerchief, into the pockets of his pants. "And you know I was just kidding about you being the attacker. I mean the victims were LDS teachers. You couldn't beat one teacher with your cowardly Pendulum Summons, let alone two."

"Cowardly?" Yuya said offended. "Why do you say that?"

Sawatari leaned closer to Yuya. "It's unfair that only you have it," he said. "But I heard a rumor that Leo Corporation is independently producing Pendulum Cards. I plan on getting my hands on some of them and I will defeat you with them." He turned around and strode off, adding over his shoulder, "I'll see you three at the Maiami Championship."

As he walked way, Yuya frowned. "Maiami Championship? Wait...that's coming up?" he gasped.

"Yeah, in a few weeks," Kazuki said. "You've still got time to get the remaining duels that you need. What was it? Four?"

"Yeah. I need four more duels to get to the fifty duels, but I've only had twenty six wins of the forty six duels I've been in," Yuya said.

"You need to win your next four duels in order to get the sixty percent win rate," Kazuki said.

Yuya nodded. "Well, the day's not over yet. I'll just ask around the school. There's bound to be four more duelists who will agree to duel me," he said as he finished eating his lunch and threw it away in the trashcan next to the bench they were seated on.

"What about you, Kazuki?" Yuzu asked. "If I remember right, you already have the sixty percent win rate needed."

Kazuki nodded. "Yeah. I'm going to be spending the next few weeks refining my Fusion Summoning skills. I want to learn all that I can about Fusion Summoning so I don't make any mistakes during the Maiami Championship," he said.

"I see." Yuzu's eyes set in determination before she turned to Yuya and added, "C'mon, while it's still lunch, let's go try to find you four more duelists."

"Right," Yuya said, jumping to his feet and Kazuki got to his feet as well and the three of them darted off to try to find four duelists for Yuya to duel.

They made their way into the school building and began asking around for anyone who would be willing to duel Yuya to help him qualify for the Maiami Championship Tournament. Kazuki asked some, Yuzu asked others, and Yuya asked others.  
The results were the same.

"They won't want to duel me because I beat Strong Ishijima," Yuya groaned.

"And some say that you should get a free pass to the tournament," Kazuki added.

"I don't want a free pass. I want to earn my way into the tournament. Besides, my duel against Strong Ishijima was only an exhibition match and doesn't count," Yuya said, a cloud of glum hovering over his head as the three of them headed toward the gates of Maiami Second. School was over for the day and the three of them were planning on heading over to You Show.

They met up with Ayu, Tatsuya, and Futoshi who, immediately noticing Yuya's glum state, asked what was wrong. When Yuya explained the situation, he finished with, "They seem to think that I should get a free pass, but they have the wrong idea. I just need to duel four more people, but I don't know who..."

He sighed and then cast a glance at his friends and grinned.

Yuzu had an idea of what he was thinking.

"Why don't I just duel you guys?" he said eagerly.

"Um, we're still in the Junior class, so it won't really count," Ayu pointed out.

"I've already qualified and have dueled against you way too many times that it would be pointless," Yuzu said.

"Same here. We know each other too well for the duel to be worthwhile," Kazuki said.

"Then what am I supposed to do?" Yuya exclaimed.

"Calm down, for one. Getting all worked up isn't going to help matters," Kazuki said, placing a hand on Yuya's shoulder and Yuya took a deep breath to calm himself down.

Yuzu thought about it until an idea came into her mind. "Why not duel Gongenzaka?" she suggested. "I mean you got most of your wins from his dojo."

Yuya was shaking his head even before Yuzu finished. "I'm grateful to Gongenzaka for helping me whenever I need it, but I don't want to really on him anymore. I want to become someone he can rely on with my own strength."

"With my own strength, huh?" Kazuki's lips pressed together and he patted Yuya's shoulder. "Hey, Yuya, will you let Principal Hiiragi know that I'm not going to be in class today?"

"Why?" Yuya said but Kazuki darted off without replying.

Yuzu, deep in thought, watched Kazuki run off as Yuya's words echoed in her head and she nodded to herself as determination set in. She knew what she had to do. "You're right, Yuya," she said and darted off as well.

"Wait, what? Where are you going?" Yuya protested.

"Don't worry about it. I want to get strong too."

"But we need to get to You Show," Tatsuya protested.

"Just tell Dad that I won't be coming today," Yuzu shouted as she ran out of earshot.

She caught up quickly with Kazuki, one of the people that she wanted to talk to. "Kazuki!" She called and Kazuki skidded to a halt and turned to her as she came up to him breathless.

"What is it, Yuzu?" he asked.

"Teach me!" Yuzu pleaded.

"What?"

"Teach me how to Fusion Summon!" Yuzu insisted. "Please. You've taught yourself how to Fusion Summon in order to get stronger, so please, will you help me get stronger and teach me?"

Kazuki studied her and let loose a breath, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm still not used to Fusion Summoning myself," he admitted. "That was actually why I was tracking down Sora. I mean, I've got down the basics, but...I just want to learn more than what I've learned so far. Books and manuals can only take me so far, after all." A thoughtful expression crossed his eyes and Yuzu wondered what else he was thinking about but he said nothing more so she brushed it off as nothing.

"You did a good job teaching yourself with just books and manuals," she said. She would admit that it was pretty neat of Kazuki to learn a summoning method through reading books and manuals on that method. However, as she listened to Kazuki's words, she realized that what they both needed was an actual teacher, someone who knew the method very well. "But maybe what we both need is an actual teacher. Let's go find Sora."

"I think he mentioned something about being around LDS Tower today," Kazuki said.

"Right," Yuzu said and she darted off in the direction of LDS Tower with Kazuki running behind her. She knew that she couldn't stay the way that she was now; Yuya was trying to change, Kazuki was already changing, and she had to change as well. She had to get stronger so that she could protect You Show and everyone she cared about.

 **. . .**

 **Next Time: The Road to the Junior Youth Championship**

 **. . .**

 **Featured cards**

Empyrean Angel of Virtuosity – Pahaliah  
Level 3  
FIRE  
Fairy/Effect  
ATK 1200/DEF 200  
During either player's turn (Quick Effect): You can banish this card from your hand or Graveyard, then target 1 face-up "Empyrean" monster you control; once during this turn, it cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects. You can only use the effect of "Empyrean Angel of Virtuosity – Pahaliah" once per turn.

Empyrean Angel of Silence – Dumah  
Level 5  
FIRE  
Fairy/Effect  
ATK 1900/DEF 900  
If you control a face-up "Empyrean" monster, you can Special Summon this card (from your hand). You can only Special Summon "Empyrean Angel of Silence – Dumah" once per turn this way. During your Main Phase, except the turn this card was sent to the Graveyard: You can banish this card from your Graveyard, then target 1 Set card your opponent controls; destroy it. You can only use this effect of "Empyrean Angel of Silence - Dumah" once per turn.

Empyrean Angel of Solitude – Cassiel  
Level 5  
FIRE  
Fairy/Effect  
ATK 2000/DEF 1000  
If you control no cards, you can Special Summon this card (from your hand). You can only Special Summon "Empyrean Angel of Solitude – Cassiel"  
once per turn this way. During your Main Phase, except the turn this card was sent to the Graveyard: You can banish this card from your Graveyard; add 1 "Empyrean" monster from your Deck to your hand, except "Empyrean Angel of Solitude - Cassiel". You can only use this effect of "Empyrean Angel of Solitude - Cassiel" once per turn.

Lucifer, Fallen Dragon of Empyrean  
Rank 4  
FIRE  
Dragon/Xyz/Effect  
ATK 2500/DEF 1500  
2 Level 4 "Empyrean" monsters  
If this card is Xyz Summoned: You can target 1 of your banished "Empyrean" cards; add it to your hand. At the start of the Damage Step, if this card battles a face-up Special Summoned monster: You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card; banish that monster, and if you do, inflict 500 damage to your opponent.

Raphael, Healer Archangel of Empyrean  
Rank 5  
FIRE  
Fairy/Xyz/Effect  
ATK 2700/DEF 1700  
2 Level 5 "Empyrean" monsters  
Once per turn, you can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card: Target 1 face-up monster your opponent controls; its ATK becomes half its current ATK, and if it does, gain LP equal to the same amount of ATK lost. Your opponent takes any battle damage you would have taken from battles involving a face-up "Empyrean" monster you control.

Empyrean Strike  
Quick-Play Spell  
Discard 1 card, then target 1 "Empyrean" monster you control that destroyed an opponent's monster by battle this turn; that target can make a second attack this Battle Phase. During your Main Phase, if this card is in your Graveyard, except the turn this card was sent to the Graveyard: You can discard 1 "Empyrean" card; Set this card in your Spell & Trap Zone. You can only activate 1 "Empyrean Strike" per turn.

Rank-Down-Magic Fallen Force

Quick-Play Spell  
Target 1 Xyz Monster you control; Special Summon from your Extra Deck, 1 "Empyrean" monster with a lower Rank than that monster you control, by using it as the Xyz Material. (This Special Summon is treated as an Xyz Summon. Xyz Materials attached to it also become Xyz Materials on the Summoned monster.) The monster Xyz Summoned by this effect gains this effect.  
• If this card attacks, or is attacked by, an opponent's monster, the opponent's monster's effects are negated during the Battle Phase only.

 **. . .**

 **A/n what do you think?**

 **Blaze: and that was chapter 4! I hope you enjoyed it**

 **Yuri: it was an intriguing win. I wonder just how well that kid would do against me? (Smirks that predatory smirk of his)**

 **Yuya: Yuri...you're being creepy again**

 **Yugo: when _isn'_ _t_ the grinning bastard being creepy?**

 **Yuto: when Bakura isn't stealing, which is to say...never**

 **Yugo: Blaze, why do you even _like_ that grinning bastard?**

 **Blaze: what can I say? I like the batshit crazy characters. I like Vector after all.**

 **Yuri: who is this Vector?**

 **Blaze: (thinks about what would happen if Yuri and Vector met and pales) no one! No one at all!**

 **Yuri: no one, eh? I believe I am going to find this "no one". I suspect we will get along well (walks off to track down Vector)**

 **Blaze: so this can go two different ways. Either they try to kill each other or, well...(gulps)**

 **Yuto: why do I have this odd feeling the second option involves the destruction of the multiverse?**

 **Blaze: Erm, your feeling is probably right. Please review, as they are much appreciated, and I hope that you enjoyed this chapter.**


	5. Road to the Junior Youth Championship

**Hello everyone! (Dodges everything that is thrown at her) Sorry about the late update! I've been working on my other ARC-V story, my original story, and I've been getting so many long shifts, or late shifts, at work that I haven't really had time to edit the chapters I have prewritten already.**

 **But I'm back now for Turn 5 of _Light the Night With Stars_. Though there are no written out duels, there's lots of plot and more backstory on Kenshin so there's that and I hope you guys like it.**

 **Thank you to _talesfanjmf, Guest x2, and MagicalPrincess07_ for reviewing the last chapter. You guys are great.**

 **And a huge thanks to _EndlessNight025_ for being an awesome beta-reader/co-author, on both this story and my other unposted ARC-V story. You're awesome.**

 **Here is Turn 5 and I hope you enjoy it. Reviews, as always, are much appreciated.**

 **Turn 5**

 **The Road to the Junior Youth Championship**

Yuto scanned LDS Tower, humming quietly to himself as he made his way down the sidewalk with Kenshin at his side. Both of them were attempting to figure out just how much the city knew about the two attacks that occurred a few days earlier. With the increase in security around LDS Tower, Yuto figured that they weren't taking any chances and he was grateful that both Kenshin and Shun had been covered so even if someone had spotted them, they wouldn't recognize them.

"The lack of security cameras in the alley were Shun and I dueled also helps us," Kenshin murmured as he scanned the area. "I don't know where Shun is, though."

"I have an odd feeling he's in this area," Yuto said and then paused when he caught sight of a figure standing near LDS Tower across the street from him. He grabbed Kenshin's arm and dragged him into an alley, frowning at the figure because there was something about that kid that didn't feel right.

"What's up?" Kenshin said in puzzlement.

"That kid… I don't know why, but I'm getting a bad feeling about him," Yuto murmured.

"I see." Kenshin turned to the cyan-haired boy and narrowed his eyes. "I'm getting the same feeling. My gut's telling me that kid can't be trusted and I can't ignore my gut, not after what happened last time."

Yuto knew to what Kenshin was referring. Kenshin still carried that guilt and Yuto doubted that it would ever truly go away. "You didn't know," he said anyway.

"That doesn't change what happened," Kenshin seethed as his hand clenched into a fist. "I was too naive back then and… Shun's right. I can't close my eyes to what's right in front of me. Even if I agree with you and I know that not everyone in Standard is our enemy, my gut's telling me that kid is an enemy. At the very least, it doesn't seem as if that kid's from this dimension; how he dresses, his posture, it suggests someone with a strict background."

"Or a militaristic background," Yuto murmured. "He could be..."

"I think so, but we won't know for sure. Someone's coming..." Kenshin fell silent and Yuto followed his light-orange-and-red-haired friend's gaze to find the two people he wasn't expecting to see jogging over to join the cyan-haired boy.

"Yuzu… and Kazuki?" Kenshin whispered, recognizing the pink-haired girl that looked like Ruri and the white-and-blue-haired boy that looked like him.

Yuto shifted closer, still sticking to the shadows, and watched as Yuzu and Kazuki grabbed the cyan-haired boy's arms and began half-dragging half-guiding him away from the tower. The boy looked too surprised by the sudden abduction that he didn't even fight.

Yuto glanced at Kenshin who nodded and the two of them darted after the cyan-haired boy. Both of them still wanted to keep innocents out of harm's way and, since they both felt that this boy was the enemy, it was clear that they both wanted to ensure that the innocent weren't harmed.

 _ _It's clear that Yuzu and Kazuki don't sense the same thing that Kenshin and I sense__ _,_ Yuto thought. __Otherwise, I'm sure they would steer clear of that boy. Perhaps our senses are just heightened because of the invasion, but no matter. I don't want either of them to get hurt. Besides, that boy might be the lead that we need.__

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Kenshin muttered as they found themselves nearing the same area where they had found Yuzu and Kazuki the first time.

"Possibly. What were you thinking?" Yuto asked as he slowed down to a walk, watching as Yuzu and Kazuki dragged the cyan-haired boy into one of the warehouses by the pier.

"That boy's not from around here. Let's question him," Kenshin said.

Yuto smiled a little. "I don't know if it's because we've been around each other too long or not, but we were thinking something along the same lines," he commented and darted toward the side of the warehouse, grabbing the fire escape stairs that would take him to the second floor and climbing up them. Kenshin quickly followed him and the two of them pushed open the door quietly and slipped into the warehouse, in time to see the cyan-haired boy turn and face both Yuzu and Kazuki.

"So why did you guys drag me here all of a sudden?" the boy questioned.

"Please teach me how to Fusion Summon, Sora," Yuzu pleaded, causing Yuto and Kenshin to narrow their eyes.

"And me," Kazuki added.

"Why?" Sora said and folded his arms across his chest, adding, "And you already know how to Fusion Summon, Kazuki. I'm still convinced that your duel against Himari was not your first time."

Kazuki let loose a breath. "And no matter how many times you say that, I will always says this. Yes. It. Was," he said. "But I want to get stronger. I want to learn more, beyond what books and manuals can teach me."

"And I want to get stronger, too," Yuzu insisted.

"This is 'cause you lost to Masumi, isn't it?" Sora said. "As for you, Kazuki, you don't need to learn anymore. You've pretty much got it down. I dunno what I can teach ya that you don't already know."

"Please teach me," Yuzu insisted.

"And there must be something else you can teach me," Kazuki said.

"The only thing that you have to learn, Kazuki, is to be more confident in your skills with Fusion Summoning, and that's something that you gotta learn on your own," Sora said. "You're a good duelist and have a very strong grasp on Fusion Summoning. You just need the confidence to get better. And Yuzu… do you really want to learn from me?"

"Yes," Yuzu said without hesitation.

Yuto frowned. _ _Why does she want to learn so badly?__ he thought. __And that boy as well… why did he teach himself how to Fusion Summon?__

"It's not that I can't," Sora added, "but is it okay? You'll get stronger, there's no doubt about that but..."

"I want to get stronger so I won't lose to anyone," Yuzu insisted.

Sora pressed his lips together in thought. "All right," he relented. "On one condition: Kazuki, you have to help me teach her."

"W...What? B...But..." Kazuki began, looking nervous.

"One way to learn confidence is to teach someone else," Sora said with a smile. "Like I said, you just need the confidence, that's all you're really lacking, and that confidence will help you get stronger. If you help me teach Yuzu how to Fusion Summon then that'll help you with that."

"B...But..."

"Didn't you once tell me that every time you try to take a step forward to fulfill your goal of making your dad proud of you, you falter? You didn't falter when you dueled Himari so don't falter now," Sora said.

"And if it'll help you get stronger, too, Kazuki, I won't mind learning from both of you," Yuzu added.

 _ _So that's his reason for dueling, huh?__ Yuto thought, observing the boy who looked like one of his best friends. __He and Kenshin are different but, at the same time, they are kind of similar.__

Kenshin cast a glance at Yuto and whispered very quietly, "He kinda reminds me of me. I mean, I've always wanted to make Mom and Dad proud of me, even now that..." He trailed off but Yuto understood. Even though Kenshin's parents were gone, Kenshin was still trying to become stronger and become a duelist they could be proud of in honor of their memory.

"I wouldn't exactly recommend Fusion Summoning as a way of getting stronger, though, but..." Kenshin shrugged and added, "Still don't know if the guy who looks like me is an enemy or not, but I have this odd feeling that he isn't."

"Your instincts?"

"Yeah, oddly enough. I kinda felt the same way when I saw him duel in the park," Kenshin murmured.

Yuto hummed and turned his gaze back to the three below, edging closer and Kenshin followed him. _ _I still would like to question him__ _,_ he thought as Yuzu asked, "Can the Fusion Materials be on the field or in the hand?"

"Both," Sora said. "They have to be on the field or in the hand in order for the Fusion Summon to work, though there are exceptions."

"It can be one of each, too," Kazuki said a little hesitantly. "One of the field and one in the hand."

"Yeah, that's how Kazuki pulled off his supposed 'second' Fusion Summon. He had one material on his field and the other in his hand," Sora said while placing air quotes around 'second'.

"What's with the air quotes? That time was my second time," Kazuki insisted.

"Still don't believe it."

Yuzu smiled a little at the interaction before adding, "So the Fusion Materials are sent to the Graveyard during the Fusion Summon and the Fusion Monster is summoned from the Extra Deck, right?"

"Exactly," Sora said and then tensed and turned his head, staring exactly at where Yuto and Kenshin were hidden.

Yuto swore inwardly when he realized he'd been spotted.

"We're being watched..." Sora said and jumped toward where Yuto was hiding.

Yuto got to his feet. "Stay here," he whispered to Kenshin as he leapt down to avoid the boy who'd nearly landed where he'd been hiding.

Sora jumped backwards until he was in front of Kazuki and Yuzu and activated his duel disk while Yuto did the same as Sora leapt at him and their duel disk blades crashed into each other's.

"Who are you? And where's the other one with you?" Sora demanded as he leapt back while Yuzu and Kazuki's eyes widened.

Yuto didn't answer. __So, he did notice Kenshin, too?__

"The other one's up there, huh?" Sora said, gesturing with his duel disk upward to where Kenshin was, indeed, still crouched in the shadows. "Why don't you come on down from there since I already know you're there anyway? There's no point in hiding."

Kenshin shrugged but jumped down from his hiding spot anyway, landing lightly next to Yuto.

Yuto gave him a long look.

"What? He already knew I was there," Kenshin defended.

"And you just had to confirm it for him," Yuto said dryly.

Kenshin just shrugged.

"You guys aren't from around here, are you?" Sora said, studying them.

"I could say the same about you," Yuto said, turning to face the cyan-haired boy.

"You… What are you two doing here?" Yuzu said in surprise.

"You know them?" Sora asked.

Yuzu nodded slowly. "He was the one who dueled Sawatari," she said, gesturing to Yuto, "and the other one was with him at the time. Were you responsible for the most recent incident, too?"

"Most recent incident?" Sora echoed.

"Two LDS Professors were attacked," Kazuki explained. "We just heard about it."

"Huh? That explains why there's so much security around LDS Tower. So, were you guys responsible for it?" Sora said.

Yuto remained silent.

"Who are you?" Yuzu questioned again. "And did you duel Sawatari to save me or was it just because you held a grudge against LDS?"

"And who are you?" Kazuki said, pointing at Kenshin. "Why do you look like me?"

"Look like you?" Sora repeated.

Kenshin huffed. "I'd hoped he'd forgotten about that," he muttered.

The warehouse doors slammed open at that moment and Yuto and Kenshin turned as a dark-skinned girl with long black hair stormed into the area. "You're the culprit, right? Were you responsible for Professor Marco and Professor Tanaka's disappearance?" she demanded, glaring at Yuto.

"Masumi? What are you doing here?" Yuzu said in surprise.

"We seem to be asking that question a lot today," Kazuki sighed.

"I thought I could get something from the scene of the crime," Masumi explained and activated her duel disk, not taking her eyes off Yuto. "You saved me the trouble of looking for you since you were lurking here this whole time."

"W...Wait, Masumi, I'm still talking to him," Yuzu protested.

"I still have things to say to him, too," Masumi shouted back.

"There's still no proof that he's the culprit."

"We'll know if this duelist uses Xyz Summoning," Masumi snapped.

Sora perked up at that.

"Fight me," Masumi demanded, glaring at Yuto and Kenshin. "One of you, I don't care who. Just fight me."

Just then, a flash of pink light erupted into the warehouse and the next thing Yuto knew, he was standing in the middle of the park near the heart of the city. He sighed and deactivated his duel disk. __Not again and, this time, Kenshin didn't come with me for some reason__ _,_ he thought and decided that he would think about that later.

Hoping that Kenshin didn't get himself into any trouble in the time it would take Yuto to track him down, Yuto headed out to do just that.

 **. . .**

Kazuki blinked his eyes several times as they adjusted to the semi-darkness once the bright pink light faded away. He turned to Yuzu, who was staring at her bracelet in puzzlement and then turned to find Masumi had transferred her glare to the other masked boy who was looking at the spot his companion had been in only a few seconds before.

"You know if I hadn't seen it with my own two eyes, I would've never believed it," the boy mused and stretched his arms over his head. "Well, I'm outta here." He darted off and slipped out of the warehouse doors, incidentally nearly running Yuya over at the same time.

Yuya yelped and jumped off to the side to avoid getting trampled and then stumbled back when Masumi nearly crashed into him, darting out of the warehouse as well. "Get back here!" Masumi shouted as she chased after the other boy.

Yuya poked his head into the warehouse. "Erm, no one else is going to run out of here, right?" he said warily.

"Nope. It's just us now," Sora said.

Yuya let loose a relieved breath and stepped into the warehouse. "The principal sent me to find you guys," he said. "He was worried about you, Yuzu, and you ran off in such a hurry yourself, Kazuki, that I got a bit worried, too."

"Sorry," Kazuki said. "I didn't mean to worry you. I just wanted to talk with Sora. That's all."

"It's okay," Yuya said with a smile. "I'm just glad you're all right, what with those attacks going on and all."

"Yeah..." Kazuki trailed off as he thought about that masked boy who'd bolted out of there not long after his companion had disappeared, the same boy that Kazuki recalled looked exactly like him; he recognized the boy's voice, which was how he knew that it was the same person. The boy never did answer that question and he wondered if he ever would, or if he even knew the answer.

Yuya studied him for a moment but turned his gaze to Yuzu, who was still staring at her bracelet.

"Yuzu? Are you okay?" he asked.

"Huh?" Yuzu snapped out of her thoughts and turned to Yuya. "Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to worry Dad."

Yuya relaxed and smiled. "I'll let him know that you're all right but what're you and Kazuki doing here anyway?"

"We were just discussing how to go about training Yuzu," Sora said.

"Training… Yuzu?" Yuya repeated in puzzlement. "And we?"

"Yup. Kazuki and I are gonna teach Yuzu how to Fusion Summon. She says that she wants to get stronger, so we decided to help her out," Sora explained and glanced at Yuzu, who was staring at her bracelet again, frowned, and added, "Oh, did you want to keep that a secret, Yuzu?"

"I… kinda got drafted against my will," Kazuki put in.

Sora laughed and poked Kazuki in the side, causing him to jump with a yelp and Yuya snickered. "You're only saying that 'cause you don't think you're ready to teach someone else something you just barely learned and have only used once, according to you anyway, but teaching someone else will help you get stronger yourself. To teach someone else is one of the best ways to learn as well."

Kazuki rubbed his side. "But I did agree to help."

"That's great," Yuya said. "I also have good news. Nico Smiley managed to find me four opponents that I can duel against to qualify for the tournament."

"That's great!" Kazuki grinned.

Yuzu looked up at that and smiled. "Congratulations, Yuya."

"Thanks! Now I just gotta win these duels and I can go on to fight in the Maiami Championship," Yuya said.

"The Maiami Championship?" Sora repeated, tilting his head to the side in puzzlement. "Sounds interesting. Can I participate, too?"

Yuya frowned. "As far as I can remember, the only way to qualify is to participate in fifty duels with a sixty percent win rate, and you haven't been here long enough to do that," he said apologetically.

"Aww," Sora whined with a pout. "But I wanted to participate so I can duel you again!"  
Yuya titled his head to the side. "Actually, I think there's another way. If you win six official duels in a row then you can participate."

"Really? Awesome! Can you ask Nico Smiley to arrange six duels for me to win? Please?" Sora pleaded.

Yuya chuckled and nodded. "Sure. I can ask him, at least," he said. He glanced at Yuzu as she once again studied her bracelet and walked over to join her. He rested a hand on her shoulder and added, "You know I'm proud of you for wanting to get stronger after your loss."

Yuzu looked up slowly. "Yuya..." she murmured and gave him a small smile before turning her attention back to her bracelet.

Yuya studied her with a small frown in concern. "Yuzu, is everything okay?"

"Oh, uh, yeah, everything's fine," Yuzu assured him with a smile that even Kazuki could tell wasn't quite sincere. It was clear what happened with those masked individuals back during the incident with Sawatari and now were still bothering her.

He glanced toward the doors that the masked person whom he knew shared the same face as him had run out of with Masumi hot on his heels. He pressed his lips together, wondering if Masumi managed to catch up with him and wondering if maybe he could try to track that boy down and question him again.

He sighed. __What am I thinking? I don't even know that kid and yet I want to go after him just to ask him why he looks like me, even though the likelihood of him even knowing why is slim__ _,_ he thought and shook his head.

"Why don't we head back to You Show now?" Yuya suggested, still looking a bit worried.

"All right," Yuzu said, lowering her hand.

"Well, how about we start tomorrow?" Sora suggested. "We can meet here at the pier and start off with the basics. Kazuki can teach you that part. What do you say, Yuzu?"

"Uh...sure," Yuzu said and turned to Kazuki. "Is that okay with you?"

"That's fine," Kazuki affirmed.

"Sounds like a plan then!" Sora grinned and turned to Yuya. "When's your first duel?"

"Two days from now," Yuya said. "I'll speak to Nico tomorrow and see if he can help with those duels for you."

"Great!"

 **. . .**

"You got into trouble again."

It was a statement, an observation of the current situation, but Kenshin still gave Yuto an irritated glare as he struggled to get his breath back. He'd spent the last half hour trying to avoid the persistent LDS student who was hell-bent on dueling him and getting answers; he couldn't exactly duel her because he was supposed to be laying low and he didn't want to draw attention to himself by dueling so soon after dueling Professor Tanaka.

The girl was sure persistent, though. It had taken Kenshin climbing up a fire escape once he'd gotten out of the girl's sight and bolting in the opposite direction once she had run past him and out of sight that got him away. He'd been rather paranoid the entire walk back to the hideout, even though a part of him doubted the girl would be able to find him again. She probably gave up once she realized that she'd lost him, or so Kenshin hoped.

"It wasn't exactly my fault," he said once he managed to get his breath back and walked over to sit down on his cot while Yuto was seated in the chair across from him. "That girl was persistent, though. It took me a good half hour just to lose her. And I wasn't exactly expecting you to disappear on me all of a sudden."

"Yes. That took me by surprise as well," Yuto admitted, leaning back in his seat. "It was a similar feeling to what happened after my duel against Sawatari, except that you hadn't gone with me like then."

"I wish I had, 'cause that would've saved me from having to run halfway across the city," Kenshin huffed.

Yuto reached under the desk and, removing a plastic water bottle, threw it at him. Kenshin caught it, thanked Yuto, opened it, and took a long drink. "Ironic that her accusations were actually right, in a way," he said.

"That's not my fault. No one but those teachers saw Shun and I," Kenshin said defensively.

Yuto held up his hands. "I know it wasn't," he said and Kenshin calmed down as the other boy added, "It's clear that LDS has a way of detecting whenever a specific summoning method is used. You heard what that girl said; she said that if one of us used Xyz Summoning then we would be the culprit. How could she have known that the culprit used Xyz Summoning if there were no witnesses to the duel?"

"That's true. But there are plenty of people who use Xyz Summoning in this dimension, right?"

"Yes, but perhaps LDS has a way of splitting the Xyz Summoning used by Standard residents and Xyz Summoning used by people not from Standard."

"You mean that they have a way of figuring out we're not from this dimension?"

"It's a theory but it would explain that girl's words," Yuto admitted. "If they can detect our usage of Xyz Summoning then we are going to have to be even more subtle and discreet. And, by we, I mean you."

"Why must you always single me out?"

"Your first day here."

"Are you ever going to let that go?!"

Yuto's lips curved into a faint half-smile before it faded and he added quietly, "Though, on a serious note, even if we can't avoid getting caught up in situations like what just happened, and the fact that I don't trust that Sora boy and will be keeping an eye on him, we should try to avoid duels for the time being or, at least, lessen our use of Xyz Summoning."

"All right," Kenshin said and leaned back on his elbows, turning his gaze to the ceiling as the two of them fell silent. Kenshin pressed his lips together as he counted the squares on the ceiling while his thoughts drifted to everyone back home. He, Yuto, and Shun had left quite suddenly once they'd found a slight lead on where Ruri was and they didn't even get the chance to really say goodbye to their comrades.

"Hey, Yuto?" he said.

"Hmm?"

"Do you think our comrades are worrying about us right now? I mean, we never really got to say goodbye to them, so… I hope that they don't fear the worst."

"I doubt they do. Allen and Michael know that we left. Michael actually wished us luck on finding Ruri when he caught us leaving while he and Allen were on patrol," Yuto said.

"Really? Where was I?"

"Helping Shun finish calibrating our duel disks for the dimensional transfer. Remember when I'd run back for a few supplies that we might need?"

"Oh, right." Kenshin hadn't really thought much about the fact that Yuto had taken a bit longer to get the remaining supplies that they might need. But then he was too focused on ensuring that the dimensional transporter would work correctly and send them to the right location.

"I just hope that they're all right," he added. "I mean, Academia seemed to have withdrawn their forces when we left, but who knows if that'll last?"

"I certainly hope it does, but, if it doesn't, the Resistance has a lot of strong duelists on our side."

"True." That only eased Kenshin's worries a little bit but, after everything he's been through and has witnessed, he supposed he had the right to be worried.

Deciding to try to focus on something else and get his mind off those worries, he said, "You know, the next time you decide to randomly disappear into thin air, take me with you. It would've saved me a heck of a lot of trouble today."

"It's not as if I planned on that," Yuto said with a huff but, when Kenshin sat up and glanced at his friend, he spotted a faint wry half-smile on his lips. "But I'll make a note to grab you the next time I decide to disappear randomly."

Kenshin chuckled. No matter how much the invasion had scarred him and no matter how much he had changed since the invasion, how much he had been forced to change because of it, he tried hard to ensure he didn't change completely, and he didn't want Yuto and Shun to change completely either. There were aspects of his friends from before the invasion that were still there and Kenshin was glad for that because he felt that if he and his friends forgot about the good times, forgot about the lighthearted times, then they would forget who they were and lose themselves.

That was why he was worried about Shun. While Yuto was far quieter and harbored a silent rage against Academia deep within him, at least he was still able to maintain his ability to care and could still smile, even though the invasion had caused that to happen less frequently than before. Shun, on the other hand, was nearly completely engulfed by his rage that he had a difficult time seeing the hypocrisy behind some of his actions and seemed to see anything doing with Fusion as the enemy. If he kept on that path then Kenshin feared he would end up forgetting just who he was and who he was fighting for and lose himself as a result.

"You look worried. Is everything all right?" Yuto asked, breaking Kenshin out of his thoughts.

He blinked at his friend, who was looking at him with concern in his gray eyes. "Yeah, I'm okay, just thinking."

"Would you like to talk about it?"

"Nah. It's nothing to worry about." Even if Kenshin did talk about his thoughts and how he felt, he knew that it wouldn't really change anything. Words couldn't change Shun's actions, even more so when Shun didn't seem to realize just how wrong his actions were, or just didn't care.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. It's getting late. We should get some sleep, and by we, I mean you," Kenshin said with a stern glare at Yuto who raised an eyebrow at him in puzzlement. "Don't give me that look. I know you didn't sleep last night again, or not much anyway."

Yuto let loose a breath but nodded. "I will try to get some sleep," he said.

"Well, I guess that's the best I'm gonna get," Kenshin muttered and laid down on the cot, watching as Yuto got up and walked over to his own cot. He was glad that Yuto was, at least, going to try to get some sleep. He looked like he really needed it, making Kenshin wonder just how much sleep Yuto has gotten in total since they arrived in that dimension.

 _ _Well, it's not like I don't understand. Even I have a hard time getting any more than a few hours of sleep. We both have our share of nightmares that we've gotta deal with after all__ _,_ Kenshin thought as he closed his eyes and tried to drift off to sleep.

 **. . .**

Kazuki and Yuzu followed Sora as he, walking backwards with his hands folded behind his head and a lollipop stick sticking out of his mouth, led the way down the street. They were heading toward the duel school where Sora's first duel was to take place; Sora had been beyond happy when Yuya had contacted him the day before, telling him that Smiley had gotten him six duels and had dragged Kazuki and Yuzu into going with him to the first two.

"What better way to illustrate what we were talking about yesterday than by seeing it in practice again?" Sora explained. "So, Yuzu, I expect you to pay close attention. If anything confuses you, ask Kazuki. Kazuki, if you notice anything that your books made no mention of, then just ask after the duel, okay?"

"Got it!" Yuzu nodded.

"All right," Kazuki said.

"Yuya's first duel's today, isn't it?" Yuzu asked as they continued on their way, Sora turning around just in time to avoid walking back first into a pole.

"Yeah. He left in a hurry this morning and didn't have breakfast. I hope that doesn't distract him during his duel..." Kazuki muttered.

"Hopefully not," Yuzu said.

"I'm sure he'll be fine. He's not Kazuki and doesn't get distracted easily, after all," Sora quipped.

"Would you stop bringing that up?" Kazuki protested with a flush of embarrassment, and he frowned at Sora, who was laughing.

"Ah, you know I'm just kidding," he said around his laughter. "Yuya'll be fine. Oh, we're here." He came to a stop and looked up at the sign of the duel school hanging next to the wooden doors that lead into it: 'Cloud Dragon Form Duel School' was written in kanji on the sign.

He led the way into the school and the principal met him in the hallway. As they followed the principal toward the duel arena, Kazuki noticed that Yuzu seemed unusually distracted again that day. He placed a hand on her shoulder and, when she looked at him, he said quietly, "Are you still thinking about what happened?"

"Yeah, a bit," Yuzu admitted. "I'm trying to get my mind off it but it seems that I can't."

"Yeah. I know what you mean. Even I'm having a hard time wrapping my mind around what happened a few days ago; people don't just go vanishing into thin air like that, and certainly not twice in the span of less than a week."

"I just don't get why my bracelet shined both times that happened." Yuzu frowned at the bracelet dangling from her wrist as she came to a stop in her walking. "What is going on around here, Kazuki?"

"I wish I knew," Kazuki sighed.

"Hey, what're you two doing? The duel's about to begin and I don't want my co-teacher and student to be late to it," Sora called from several yards away as he stood at the entrance to the duel arena with his hands planted on his hips.

"Coming," Yuzu called and she and Kazuki quickly darted after Sora.

Sora's duel against Cloud Dragon Form Duel School's top student, a Sumo wrestler by the name of Kurogane Kaneto, was a quick one, even though Kazuki could tell that Sora was holding back. He also kept glancing into the audience to make sure that Kazuki and Yuzu were paying attention, especially when he was performing his Fusion Summon of Des-Toy Scissors Bear, and frowned when he noticed that Yuzu wasn't paying attention.

Kazuki nudged Yuzu, causing her to snap out of her daydream. "Huh?" she said.

"You missed Sora's Fusion Summon," Kazuki said.

"Oh, sorry. Is the duel over?" Yuzu asked.

"Des-Toy Scissors Bear! Attack him directly," Sora ordered and the creepy pink bear with the scissors jutting out of its gut shot across the field and crashed into Kurogane, sending him flying into the wall and knocking out the last of his Life Points.

"Now it is..." Kazuki winced.

"C'mon," Sora said, jumping down from the stage and frowning at Yuzu in irritation. "Let's go on to our next opponent." He led the way out of the school and Yuzu and Kazuki quickly hurried after him.

Sora's next duel also ended very quickly, with Sora winning with Des-Toy Scissors Bear once again. However, while Kazuki was paying rapt attention to the entire duel, Yuzu was spacing out again. Even though she denied it, it was clear to both Kazuki and Sora that she was lying through her teeth.

Sora groaned, running a hand over his face.

Kazuki sighed.

"Sorry," Yuzu apologized with a slight blush of embarrassment on her cheeks.

"No matter," Sora said, rubbing his temples. "We'll try again tomorrow during my next duel. How about we quiz you on what we taught you yesterday during our walk back to You Show?"

"Okay," Yuzu said.

As they walked, Sora and Kazuki took turns asking Yuzu questions. Most of the time, Yuzu got the answers right, but there were a few times when she hesitated and then finally admitted that she didn't know the answer.

"Well, you got most of 'em right," Sora said. "Though I suppose you've gotta remember that Fusion Monsters can be Special Summoned from the Cemetery, but you have to pay attention to the card's effect. Some will say that they can only be Fusion Summoned from the Extra Deck while others say that they have to first be Fusion Summoned using the specified materials."

"So if it is says they have to first be Fusion Summoned using the specified materials, if they're sent to the Cemetery, then they can be revived with a Magic or Trap Card?" Yuzu asked.

"Yeah," Sora said. "But only if it's properly Fusion Summoned. Also, there are some cards that can't be Special Summoned from the Cemetery because they have an effect that states they can only be summoned through Fusion Summon and not by any other methods."

"Oh."

"And the effects of Fusion Monsters are another thing to remember," Sora said. "Some effects won't activate unless the card is properly Fusion Summoned. Since Special Summoning it from the Cemetery doesn't count as a Fusion Summon, that particular effect won't activate."

Yuzu tilted her head to the side. "So, um, what does that mean?"

"Like my Interstellar Ice Star Draco," Kazuki put it after a moment of hesitation. "When it's Fusion Summoned, its effect lets me Special Summon a Level 6 or lower monster with its effects negated. If I had Special Summoned Draco from my Cemetery, I wouldn't be able to use that effect because that's not a Fusion Summon."

"Oh, I see, okay," Yuzu said.

"If you want to borrow my books, you can. To remind you of anything you may have forgotten from yesterday," Kazuki offered quietly.

Yuzu smiled at him. "Thanks. I'll take a look at them."

"So… my next duel's not for a few more days, so do you think you're ready to try it out, Yuzu?" Sora asked.

"Erm, I don't have a Fusion Monster yet," Yuzu admitted. "I'm gonna go to the card shop to see if I can find one for my deck tomorrow."

"Then we'll try the day after," Sora suggested. "How about we meet by the pier? On that note, who do you wanna duel in this practice duel? I don't mind and I'm sure Kazuki doesn't mind, either, whoever you choose."

"Well, I've seen your deck," Yuzu admitted, "but I haven't seen Kazuki's new monsters yet and I'm a bit curious so, Kazuki, will you duel me?"

Kazuki nodded. "Sure."

The three of them made their way toward and into You Show where they were greeted by enthusiastic shouts and Kazuki and Yuzu exchanged glances before making their way into the lobby where Ayu, Futoshi, and Tatsuya were talking excitedly. They were talking so quickly and over each other that Kazuki had a difficult time understanding them but, when he saw the beaming smile of happiness on Yuya's face, it didn't take him long to figure it out.

"You won," he said.

Yuya nodded.

"Congrats, Yuya," Sora said. "I won both of my duels today, too."

"Congrats, Sora!" Ayu cheered. "Both Big Bro Yuya and Sora are winners today. That's great."

"When's your next duel?" Kazuki asked.

"In a few days," Yuya said. "Nico said that I'm going to be going against Kyuando Eita at Clarity Duel School."

"Good luck," Kazuki said. "Considering how terrible you are at quizzes, I think you're gonna need all the luck you can get." He dodged the couch cushion that an irritated Yuya threw at him and added, "Well, it's true!" The next couch cushion smacked him right in the face.

"I'm getting better," Yuya huffed. "But I am planning on watching, at least, a few of those quiz shows to prepare myself. What about you? Do you have anything planned for then?"

"I'm not sure. I'll try to make it to your duel, though."

"If you can't make it, I understand," Yuya said. "You've been busy the past few days, huh? How is everything going with your training sessions, and yours, Yuzu?"

"They're going well," Yuzu said with a faint smile. "I'm learning quite a bit. Sora and Kazuki are really good teachers."

"It's an interesting experience, teaching, I mean," Kazuki admitted. "But it's been going well."

"That's good," Yuya said and, grinning, added, "My baby bro is growing up and already becoming a teacher!"

Kazuki chugged the couch cushion in his hand into Yuya's face. "Who are you calling 'baby' bro?" he retorted.

"You, of course," Yuya said cheerful, unfazed by the cushion that had smacked him in the face.  
"We're only a few minutes apart."

"But I'm older."

"I'm not convinced. I'm positive I'm older."

"I know I'm older."

While Kazuki and Yuya argued over who was older, Yuzu sweatdropped and rubbed her temples while Ayu giggled, Futoshi and Tatsuya just looked at each other in amusement, and Sora tilted his head to the side.

"I take it those two argue about this a lot," he said casually.

"You have no idea," Yuzu said dryly.

"Out of curiosity, who is older?"

"That's the main reason why they argue over who's older all the time. No one seems to know which one of them was born first," Yuzu admitted. "They've asked their mom but she just said that she didn't know and thus this eternal argument began. And if they don't stop arguing then they are going to get a taste of my paper fan!"

Kazuki and Yuya, knowing full well that Yuzu would make good on her threat, shied away from Yuzu, who was glaring at them with an annoyed look in her eyes while holding her paper fan in a tight grip.

"Okay, okay, we'll stop," Kazuki and Yuya said at the exact same time, eyeing the paper fan warily.

"Good," Yuzu said and the paper fan went back to who knew where.

Sora chuckled. "You guys are funny."

 **. . .**

Sora sat on the top of the storage container, lollipop in his mouth as he watched his co-teacher and his student facing off against each other. The duel was a simple one, used to help Yuzu learn how to Fusion Summon, but Sora was interested in seeing Kazuki's Fusion Summon once again. He had done it so easily, and twice in one duel, that he was interested in seeing it again.

It kind of reminded him of someone. He was sure that Kazuki reminded him of someone and had been feeling that way since the day he first met the white-haired boy. There was just something about him that felt familiar, not only his ease with Fusion Summoning but also his face. Sora felt that he had seen that face before; he hadn't really thought about it before but, now that he actually did think about it, he realized that he had seen that face before.

 _ _But from where?__ he wondered.

"All right, Kazuki. It's your move," Yuzu said. "And I can show you what I learned during my turn, well, supposing I get the card that I need."

"I'm sure you will get it," Kazuki said and drew a card. Both of them were currently even on Life Points, both were at 4000, while Kazuki had Ice Star Serpens (6/2300/1700), a long dark-blue coiled serpent with silver stardust covering its body, and Ice Star Taurus (4/1700/1100), a dark-blue bull with silver horns, on the field along with the Continuous Magic Ice Star Calling. Yuzu had Aria the Melodious Diva (4/1600-2100/1200-1700), a purple-haired girl with an orange harp on her back, and Sonata the Melodious Diva (3/1200-1700/1000-1500), a green-haired girl with a blue-and-green harp on her back, on the field.

Kazuki held up his card. "I activate Ice Star Fusion. I fuse Ice Star Serpens and Ice Star Taurus on my field," he said, inserting the card into his duel disk and the vortex of various shades of blue appeared on the field. Serpens and Taurus turned into lights that were engulfed by the vortex.

"Serpent of the night sky. Bull that charges across the stars. Become one in a vortex of ice and snow and reveal to us your new form! Fusion Summon! Descend! Level 8! Dragon that soars across the night sky. Interstellar Ice Star Draco!" Kazuki chanted as, in a flash of light, the beautiful dark-blue stardust-covered serpentine dragon flew onto the field, its sapphire eyes glowing with power (8/2800/2200).

"Since Serpens and Taurus were both sent to the Cemetery through a card effect, their effects activate. First, Taurus's effect lets me send an Ice Star monster from my deck to my Cemetery. I'll go with Ice Star Sagittarius," Kazuki said and sent the mentioned card before adding, "Also, Ice Star Serpens' effect activates, dealing you 200 points of damage times the number of Ice Star monsters in my Cemetery, which is three."

Yuzu shielded herself as three icicles shot toward her out of the ground.

 ** **Kazuki: 4000 | Yuzu: 3400****

"Also, since Ice Star Sagittarius was sent to the Cemetery by a card effect, you also get dealt 200 damage for each card you control, which is currently two," Kazuki added and Yuzu again shielded herself from the two icicles that shot toward her.

 ** **Kazuki: 4000 | Yuzu: 3000****

"I end my turn with that," Kazuki said.

Sora knew that he only did that because it was a training session and Kazuki was giving Yuzu the chance to try out Fusion Summoning. Kazuki could have easily destroyed one of Yuzu's monsters and dealt her serious damage as a result, but he held back because it wasn't a real serious duel; it was a training session to see if Yuzu had Fusion Summoning down yet. The effects of the monsters Kazuki used in his Fusion Summoning were to make the duel at least, somewhat, authentic.

"So your monsters have effects that activate when they're used as Fusion Materials?" Yuzu asked.

"Well, my monsters have effects that activate when they're sent to the Cemetery by a card effect, which happens when they're Fusion Summoned using a Fusion card," Kazuki said.

"Do all Fusion Materials have that?"

"No," Sora put in from his spot on the storage container as he removed the lollipop from his mouth. "That's just an additional effect that Kazuki's cards have. There are other cards that have effects like that but not all of them are used in Fusion Summons."

"Oh. Okay," Yuzu said. "Right, it's my turn now. I draw." She drew a card and glanced at it, nodding to herself as her eyes set in determination. "Right. Let's do this. I activate Fusion! And I fuse Aria the Melodious Diva and Sonata the Melodious Diva! Enchanting melodies bloom in splendid glory and play for us a new harmony! Fusion Summon!"

The summon didn't work, however, and Sora leaned closer as he spotted an error message on Yuzu's duel disk.

"What? Why didn't it summon my Fusion Monster?" Yuzu protested, staring at her duel disk in puzzlement.

Sora sweatdropped. "Did you remember to put that monster in your Extra Deck?" he asked.

"What?"

Sora sighed. "I've told you a dozen times, and even Kazuki reminded you a few times. Fusion Monsters go to the Extra Deck, not the Main Deck."

"Oh… that's right," Yuzu said with a flush of embarrassment as she withdrew her deck, causing the holograms to disappear, and spread her cards out, picking the aforementioned card out of the Main Deck and studying it. Kazuki removed his own deck and his holograms disappeared as the duel ended with no conclusion.

Sora jumped down from his container. "I think that's enough for today," he said. "You know you've had front-row seats to two of my duels and have gone through those books that Kazuki lent you and even answered most of mine and Kazuki's questions correctly. You should've have been able to figure out Fusion Summoning from that."

"I'm sorry,"Yuzu said quietly.

"You've been distracted," Kazuki said as he deactivated his duel disk.

"Maybe a little," the pink-haired girl confessed.

"You're still thinking about him, aren't you?" Sora said and smirked when Yuzu blushed and looked away. "I knew it! So who is he?

"I don't know," Yuzu admitted.

"So you have met him twice before?"

"Yeah, both Kazuki and I met him twice, here actually," Yuzu admitted. "He stepped in to duel Sawatari and told me that he didn't want me to get hurt."

"And that's when he stole your heart?"

Yuzu went red. "W...What? N...No, what are you…? That's not it!" she exclaimed.

"Besides, Yuzu already has a crush on..." Kazuki began and winced when Yuzu smacked him upside the head with her paper fan.

"I do not!" she shouted, her cheeks still red while Kazuki clutched at his head.

Sora grinned. __Really, I definitely made the right choice in staying at You Show for the duration of my mission. It really is quite interesting. And that masked duelist really is interesting. I wonder if he is who I think he might be__ _,_ he thought but didn't ask that. Instead, he pulled out a chocolate bar and unwrapped it as he added, "But that guy is pretty interesting. If that Masumi girl hadn't butted in, I might've been able to duel him myself."

He bit into the chocolate bar and added, "That was really disappointing."

"You can't duel him. He's dangerous," Yuzu protested.

Sora resisted the urge to chuckle. _ _Dangerous? If he is who I think he is, he's not dangerous at all, at least not to me. Even if he's not who I think he is, he's still not dangerous__ _._

 **. . .**

Yuto leaned against the wall as he listened to the Sora boy talk with Yuzu and Kazuki. He was just far enough away that they wouldn't notice him but also close enough that he could hear what they were saying, though that was primarily because he was downwind of them. Their voices carried quite easily to him.

"Dangerous, huh?" he murmured to himself. He sighed quietly. He hadn't wanted to come off as dangerous but he had done what needed to be done to protect Yuzu; at the time, it had been because he has thought she was Ruri but, after he found out she wasn't Ruri, he still wanted to keep her safe and ensure she wasn't hurt because she was innocent.

And because he really didn't want to hurt anyone anymore.

He could still remember what happened not long after Ruri had been kidnapped, when he ran into that duelist on that motorcycle while he'd been trying to find Ruri, and Kenshin because Kenshin had also gone missing when he went out to search for Ruri.

He clashed with the duelist on the motorcycle, but the arrival of his comrades had forced the duelist to flee, and without giving Yuto the answers that he'd been seeking; he felt that the duelist had something to do with Ruri's disappearance but hadn't been able to get any answers out of him.

Even so, he hadn't had any intention of hurting that duelist. He just wanted answers, he just wanted to find his friend, but he knew that, on the battlefield, he had to do what he had to do in order to survive.  
He closed his eyes but, then, he heard a cry right before everything blurred and the next thing he knew he was standing in an alley.

 _ _Warped again, huh?__ he thought and shook his head, heading toward the mouth of the alley but paused when an explosion sounded nearby.

He turned and darted off in its direction, stepping out of the alley just in time to see one of the LDS teachers get sent flying to the ground. The deadly form of Raid Raptors – Rise Falcon was hovering in the air above the fallen teacher while a man cloaked in a dark-blue trench coat was standing over the teacher.

"Shun..." Yuto murmured, watching as Shun stepped forward, his duel disk raised high before a purple light engulfed the teacher and the man vanished.

Shun removed the card and tucked it away. "I know you're there," he said.

Yuto stepped out of the shadows. "Shun," he began.

"If you're going to tell me that I shouldn't be doing this, then save your breath. I've already heard something similar from Kenshin," Shun said as he deactivated his duel disk and turned to Yuto who simply studied him.

"You haven't made any contact with me since we arrived here," he said, deciding that he wouldn't push that lest he get on Shun's bad side.

"I've been busy. I sent a message with Kenshin."

"I know," Yuto said. "Still, LDS is on high alert, Shun."

"I know. My plan to draw out Akaba Reiji is working, though. Eventually he will have no choice but to confront me," Shun said and frowned. "By the way, where's Kenshin?"

"He should be at the hideout."

"Should be?"

"Yes. That's where he said he was going, anyway."

Shun hummed. "Have you found out anything, Yuto?"

"No. I have a possible lead but I'm working on getting information right now," Yuto said. He was sure that Shun would target Sora the instant he knew that there was the possibility of someone from Academia being there, but he didn't want Yuzu and Kazuki to get caught in the crossfire. Even more so because Kazuki used Fusion Summoning himself and that wouldn't go over well with Shun.

"I'll let you know if I find out anything," he added.

"All right." Shun turned around and started to walk off.

"Shun," Yuto called.

The older boy stopped.

"Stay safe."

Shun was silent for a long moment. "You too, and keep the idiot out of trouble," he said and walked off, disappearing into the darkness.

"It seems that Kenshin's not the only idiot I need to keep out of trouble," Yuto murmured as he turned and began walking back the way he had come.

 **. . .**

Kenshin watched the boy who looked like him trail after Yuzu, the cyan-haired boy, and a boy that looked so much like Yuto that Kenshin had to look twice in order to assure himself that it wasn't Yuto. He then glanced at the card in his hand; a local card shop owner had given it to him, stating that he knew that it would be a good match for his deck. When Kenshin had tried to protest, the shop owner insisted.

"It's the least I can do after you and your brother helped me out last month."

It was clear to Kenshin that he'd been mistaken for someone else, and he knew he should not have taken off his disguise but it was hot in that store and he had only removed it to cool off. Since he didn't want to go through the trouble of attempting to convince the shop owner that he wasn't who the shop owner thought he was—primarily because he doubted the shop owner would believe him—he just accepted the card.

 _ _Well, I may as well give it to the kid it's supposed to be for. Considering what it is, I have no doubt that Kazuki kid is the actual kid that shop owner wanted to give this card to__ _,_ Kenshin thought as he, as discreetly as possible, followed the group of three.

Kazuki must have sensed that he was being followed because he turned around once his companions had rounded the corner. They must not have noticed that Kazuki wasn't following them anymore because they didn't come back.

Kenshin, noticing that the street he was on was empty save for him and his lookalike, moved forward.

"You're that boy from before," Kazuki said, narrowing his blue eyes.

"Yeah," Kenshin said. "Before you ask, 'cause I have no doubt you're about to, I don't know why we look like each other. I really don't. Anyway, here." He held out the card to Kazuki who took it and frowned at it.

"Why are you giving this to me?" he said in puzzlement.

"Well, some shop owner mistook me for you and insisted I take that card. Apparently, he was gonna give it to you as payment for something you and your brother did a month ago," Kenshin said with a shrug and turned around before walking off.

"Wait, who are you?" Kazuki called again.

Kenshin stopped, debating with himself before he relented. "Kenshin," he said. "My name's Kenshin." He kept walking and rounded the corner into an alley that he could use as a shortcut to get to the hideout that he was supposed to head to an hour ago.

By the time he reached the hideout, the sun was resting on the horizon and Kenshin wasn't too surprised to find that Yuto was already there. Yuto gave him a long look. "I thought you said that you were heading straight for the hideout," he said.

"Well, I was, but I decided to try to find more information about the duel schools in this city," Kenshin admitted. He wasn't sure if that information would be helpful but it could be; at the very least, it might help in figuring out where they could find that Sora kid. If he was from Academia, and was trying to blend in, then attending one of the many duel schools would be a decent cover.

"What did you find out?" Yuto asked curiously.

"Well, I've got a list of all the duel schools in this city, but that really doesn't narrow down what I was looking for."

"Which was what?"

"That Sora kid… if he's really from Academia, and here undercover or something, then attending a duel school would be a decent cover, right?"

Yuto pressed his lips together in thought and nodded. "Yes, it would," he agreed. "Did it really take you a long time to figure that out?"

"Not really, no. I also went into one of the card shops to see if I could overhear anything that might be helpful, since I overheard someone talking about the increase in security around LDS, and I kinda got mistaken for Kazuki."

"You took off your disguise?"

"I was just cooling off for a bit. I didn't think the shop owner would mistake me for Kazuki, especially considering how I was dressed, but he did." Kenshin shrugged and decided, at the last minute, not to mention his brief interaction with his lookalike; it wasn't as if it was important. The only thing Kenshin had done was give Kazuki the card that was supposed to be given to him anyway, and tell him his name.

That...might not have been a good move on Kenshin's part but it wasn't as if his lookalike could do anything with just a first name, even more so because Kenshin didn't exist in any records in the Standard Dimension.

Yuto gave him a long look but nodded. "I suppose there was no harm in that," he said. "I ran into Shun, by the way. He carded another LDS teacher."

Kenshin grimaced. "What does he hope to gain by carding three LDS teachers like this?"

"He said that it was helping his plan to draw out Akaba Reiji, though I think he may be going too far but he's stubborn," said Yuto.

"Naturally." Kenshin sat down on his cot and added, "I'm going to head out in the morning again and see about finding out more information. Are you going to keep an eye on Sora again tomorrow?"

"Yes. That is the only way that I have right now to learn anything about him until I can find a way to question him," Yuto said and stood up, walking over to his own cot and Kenshin laid down, curling his arm under his head and gazing at the ceiling.  
Tomorrow was another day and Kenshin hoped that it would be a bit more productive than today had been and he hoped that they would be able to find out more information than they had today.

 **. . .**

 _ _I should not have stayed up practically all night watching quiz shows__ _,_ Yuya thought as he yawned, covering his mouth as he made his way down the sidewalk. He was exhausted since he'd stayed up until only a few hours before dawn watching quiz shows to prepare himself for his duel against Kyuando. He hoped that he would get over his exhaustion because he didn't want to be falling asleep during his duel against Kyuando, especially since it was probably going to be difficult enough because he wasn't that great with quizzes.

He was better than his brother thought he was but there were a lot of subjects that he was terrible with, like math and science. Those were his worst subjects; frankly, the only reason why he was even passing those classes with a decent grade at Maiami Second was because of Kazuki. His studious brother always helped Yuya with his homework and was an extremely patient teacher.  
Yuya smiled as he walked. Thinking about how good of a teacher Kazuki was with him, Yuya knew that he would be a great teacher for Yuzu.

He heard some shouts and turned to find a short man yelling at a few LDS members and frowned to himself as he vaguely recognized the man. "Isn't that Sawatari's dad?" he said and, yawning again, glanced at the time.

Once he realized he was running a bit behind schedule, he groaned. "I'm gonna be late if I don't hurry up," he said to himself and started running down the street, heading toward where Nico had asked to meet him.

"Stop!" A shout sounded behind him suddenly and he glanced over his shoulder, eyes widening when he saw Sawatari's dad and three LDS members were chasing after him.

 _ _Why are they chasing me?__ he thought in puzzlement as he bolted down the street.

"Stop! I won't let you get away, not after what you did to my son," Sawatari's dad shouted.

"I didn't do it!" Yuya shouted back but he was ignored as the man urged the other students to hurry up and catch him. He realized that the only thing he could do was keep on running. He didn't do anything wrong but it was clear that Sawatari's dad wouldn't believe anything that he said.

He rounded the corner and darted into an alleyway near the bridge, having to quickly sidestep to avoid running into the young man standing at the center of the alley, his dark-blue trench coat being pushed around his ankles by the wind. Above his head was a winged monster that Yuya immediately recognized as a Duel Monster.

 _ _Who is this guy?__ he wondered as he skidded to a halt and whirled around.

The young man stepped forward. "LDS?" he hissed and held out his activated duel disk. "You will be my opponents."

"Is this the one who attacked Marco, Tanaka, and Tio?" one of the LDS members said.

"What's the deal with this guy?" Sawatari's dad said and then shook his head. "Never mind him! Get Sakaki Yuya."

"If you three will not start, I will!" the young man said and placed a card on his duel disk. "I summon Raid Raptor – Vanishing Lanius!"

Another falcon-like monster identical to the one currently on the young man's field appeared.

"When Vanishing Lanius is successfully summoned, I can Special Summon another one from my hand," the young man said and a third copy of the same monster appeared on the field.

"Three monsters with the same Level?" Yuya murmured as he remembered his duel against Hokuto and he realized what was going to happen.

"I overlay my three Vanishing Lanius! Xyz Summon!" the young man declared as the spinning galaxy appeared on the field and the three monsters morphed into purple swirls that spiraled into the galaxy before a blast of blue lightning erupted onto the field.

"There is no doubt," one of the LDS members said. "This guy is the one who attacked Marco, Tanaka, and Tio."

A powerful gust of wind erupted from the portal, shooting out in all directions and Yuya yelped as he was blasted backwards by the powerful wind. He crashed hard into the wall and the last thing he heard was a loud crash and then there was nothing but darkness.

"Hey...hey...are you okay?" Yuya felt someone nudge his shoulder as he heard a voice call to him from beyond the darkness. As the darkness faded away and the memory of what just happened came back into his mind, Yuya's eyes snapped open and he gazed around widely.

"Calm down," the voice said.

Crimson eyes traveled to the owner of the voice to find a young man kneeling in front of him with a pair of dark goggles covering his eyes, a black mask covering his face, and the hood of a cloak covering his head, though Yuya could still see strands of light-orange hair and a thick red bang.

"W...Who are you? Where…? What's…?" Yuya stammered out, unable to form a coherent sentence as he was still in shock over what happened. The person who attacked those two LDS teachers, and apparently a third one if Yuya remembered what he heard correctly, had just attacked someone again, using Xyz Summoning, and the kind of power that was unleashed was something that Yuya has only ever experienced in an Action Field.

"Calm down. He's gone now," the young man said, turning his head and letting loose a sigh of exasperation.

"Who are you?" Yuya asked again.

"Don't worry about it. Are you okay now?" the young man asked.

Yuya nodded slowly and frowned because, now that the panic was starting to fade away, he was puzzled by the young man who was wearing a mask and goggles just like the man who'd attacked those LDS people. "Are you with him?" he said warily.

The young man didn't answer as he scanned the alleyway again and rubbed his temples. "Shun really overdid it this time," he muttered and stood up, turning and holding out a hand to Yuya, who was eyeing him warily.

"I'm not gonna hurt you," the boy added.

Yuya could sense the sincerity in the boy's voice and took the boy's hand, pulling himself to his feet. "Who are you?" he asked again.

"Like I said, don't worry about it," the boy said and started to walk away.

"Wait! Is that guy really the one behind all the attacks? Are you guys working together?" Yuya demanded.

The boy stopped walking and was silent for a long moment. "If I answer one of your questions, will you answer one of mine?" he said finally.

Yuya hesitated but decided that was a fair trade. "All right."

"Unfortunately, yes, he was the one behind all the attacks." The boy turned to face him and added, "Now, my question: do you know a boy by the name of Sora?"

Yuya frowned. "Sora? Why do you want to know about him?"

"Answering my question with a question doesn't count as answering," the boy said.

"Fair point," Yuya said. "Yeah, I know Sora. He's my friend."

"Friend, huh?" The boy fell silent before he turned around and added, "I would be wary about those you think are your friends."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Yuya said, narrowing his eyes. "Do you know Sora? Are you a friend of his?"

"No." The deadpan, almost hostile response made Yuya frown but the hostility faded from the boy's voice as he added, "I just… like to think of myself as a good judge of character. That's all."

"Even so, you shouldn't judge someone without even knowing them first," Yuya said firmly. Even he had given Sora a chance, in spite of how annoying the boy was when they first met.

"You should also not automatically trust someone without really getting to know them first," the boy countered and guilt filled his voice as he added, "I learned that the hard way."

Yuya narrowed his eyes but the boy said nothing more as he walked off. He stopped again and added, "I get that you probably trust Sora way more than you trust me and I'm not trying to turn you against him or nothing like that. I just… I don't want you or your friends to get hurt, that's all." He walked away and disappeared around the corner before Yuya could ask what he meant by that.

 _ _Just who was that boy?__ he thought with a small frown on his lips.

He jumped with a yelp of surprise when he felt a hand land on his shoulder and whirled around to find Nico standing behind him. "Oh, you startled me."

"You were staring off into space, Yuya-kun." Nico gazed around and pressed his lips together as he added, "Not the best place to be spacing out, you know. C'mon, we should get going if we don't want to be late to your next duel."

"Uh, right." Yuya decided that he would put aside his conversation with that strange masked person for the time being. He had to focus; his second qualifying duel was going to be starting soon and he knew he would have to focus if he wanted to win.

Even so, as he walked away, he found himself glancing back the way that boy had gone and frowned to himself because there was something oddly familiar about that boy, but he wasn't sure what. He shook his head to clear it and continued to walk after Nico as they left the alley and headed toward the bus stop that would take them to the Clarity Duel School.

 **. . .**

 _ _Xyz Summoning, huh?__ Kazuki thought as he gazed at the card that the boy who looked like him, Kenshin, had given him. The black-bordered monster card was resting on the table next to him as he studied it, its Rank, its effect, and its summoning conditions; it didn't seem as if it would be too hard to summon it. All he had to do was get two monsters of the same Level, equal to the Rank of the Xyz Monster, on the field and then Overlay them and summon the Xyz Monster from his Extra Deck.

He turned to the manual he'd been flipping through. That was what the manual said along with giving him an example of what to do. He hummed to himself as he studied the page he was on and then glanced back at the new monster.

 _ _I could make this work__ _,_ he thought and leaned back in his chair, stretching his arms above his head as he gazed at the ceiling. His thoughts drifted to Akaba Reiji and his duel against Yuya; during that duel, Reiji had used all three summoning methods and Kazuki had been just as impressed as the rest of the You Show students.

He found himself wondering if that could be another way for him to get strong. Not only teach himself how to Fusion Summon, but also teach himself how to Xyz Summon and, maybe even later on down the line, he could teach himself how to Synchro Summon as well.

Maybe it was ambitious of him to try to teach himself all three summoning methods but, at the same time, Kazuki found himself wanting to do that, to try to learn all three summoning methods. Even if it didn't happen right away, if he could teach himself two summoning methods then wouldn't that help him with his goal?

He lowered his head and picked up the card Kenshin had given him, pressing his lips together. __Dad, should I try this? Would this help me get strong enough to make you proud?__ he wondered and closed his eyes as he thought about his dad.

His dad was a legend and, just as Sora said, following in the footsteps that Sakaki Yushou left behind was difficult because of that. He'd taken the initial step by actually putting into practice what he'd learned about in the past month so, perhaps, he should continue moving forward, not just in learning more about Fusion Summoning but, also, in learning Xyz Summoning as well.  
 _Your goal's to be a duelist your dad can be proud of, right? Then getting stronger and becoming more skilled as a duelist can only help you fulfill your goal._

Sora's words echoed in Kazuki's head and he opened his eyes before gazing at the Xyz Monster in his hand and he smiled. "Yeah, you're right, Sora," he said quietly. "The more skilled a duelist I am, the more likely I can fulfill my goal and become the duelist that Dad can be proud of."

The door to the library opened and Kazuki glanced up as he tucked the Xyz Monster away in his Extra Deck holder.

"There you are," Sora said, making his way over to join Kazuki with his arms folded across his chest and a frown on his lips while Yuzu followed after him. "We've been looking everywhere for you."

"Really? Why?" Kazuki said in confusion before he glanced at the time and realized that it was about twenty minutes before Sora's third duel was due to begin. "Oh, sorry. I got sidetracked."

"Why am I not surprised?" Sora mused, unfolding his arms and grinning as he added teasingly, "At least it wasn't something shiny this time."

Kazuki flushed. "I...walked right into that one," he said as he closed the manual and stood up, grabbing his school jacket and slipping it on before following Sora and Yuzu as they led the way out of the library.

"So what were you studying today?" Yuzu asked.

"Just other summoning methods," Kazuki said.

"Like Synchro and Xyz?" Yuzu said curiously.

Sora folded his arms behind his head. "You want to teach yourself how to Synchro and Xyz Summon?"

"I'm still thinking about it," Kazuki admitted, though he knew he was leaning in favor of going through with that plan.

"Eh, I don't think you need to, personally speaking. You've got Fusion Summoning after all," Sora said as he let his hands fall, waving one hand dismissively as the other swung at his side. "Now let's get going. Since we had to spend so much time finding Kazuki, we've gotta hurry or we're gonna be late."

"We still have twenty minutes and the duel school's not even that far away," Yuzu pointed out. "Isn't it only a few blocks away?"

"Still. It's a good idea to get there early," Sora said cheerfully and started jogging once they were out of the main building and Yuzu and Kazuki exchanged amused glances before jogging after him.

 **. . .**

Yuya didn't know whether to be happy that he won the duel, or relieved that it was finally over. All those quizzes that he had to deal with had been difficult but, at least, Yuya had learned a valuable lesson from that duel. To be able to communicate with his opponent with his dueling, and with his audience at that, was the mark of a good duelist and something that Yuya knew his dad did all the time.

After waving to the crowd and leaving the arena, Yuya found Nico Smiley waiting for him.

"Congratulations on your win, Yuya-kun," Nico said with a grin, though his eyes betrayed the fact that he didn't seem that happy about Yuya's duel.

"Thanks," Yuya said with a small frown as he fell into step beside Nico as the taller man led the way outside. "But you don't seem very happy."

"Oh I'm plenty happy," Nico said. "You learned proper hospitality during your duel against Mokoto Michio, and in this duel, you learned that duels are a communication tool. Plus, you also racked up two wins back to back. Even so, being happy is your job."

Yuya tilted his head to the side, not quite sure what Nico was getting at.

"This is a good start," Nico added as he pushed open the doors to Clarity Duel School and led the way outside, "but it's within my expectations."

 _ _So you expected me to win?__ Yuya thought.

"Entertaining people comes first for a pro duelist," Nico added as they walked side by side down the street. "You have to surprise and steal the hearts of your audience all the while earning their applause. Being able to surpass the audience's imaginations is the mark of a pro."

Even though Nico didn't outright say it, Yuya knew what he meant. Even though he'd won his duels against Michio and Eita, it was clear that he hadn't surpassed Nico's expectations, and the imaginations of the audience. He wanted to be like his father who was able to steal the hearts of his audience with his Entertainment Dueling but it was clear to him that he still had a ways to go to be able to do that.

"I have no doubt that you can do it, though," Nico added. "Your third duel is going to be in a few days. I'll send you the address by tomorrow."

"Right, okay," Yuya said and he and Nico parted ways once they reached the corner and Yuya began heading toward You Show. He knew that his brother and Yuzu were likely at Sora's fourth duel right now so he decided to head back to You Show and, perhaps, try to figure out what to do.

Perhaps the secret lay in what Reiji was talking about, the possibilities of an evolution in Pendulum Summoning.

 _ _He can see it but why can't I?__ Yuya thought as he tilted his head to gaze at the sky. __What am I missing?__

He sighed and lowered his head as he kept on walking.

He made his way into You Show and was almost immediately nearly tackled to the ground by the three excited kids. They had gone on ahead after watching Yuya's duel against Kyuando while Yuya spoke with Nico and it was clear that they were still extremely happy about Yuya's win.

"We told the principal all about it," Ayu said with a grin as she released Yuya.

"Yeah. He was really happy for you," Tatsuya said.

"Wish Sora, Yuzu, and Kazuki could've been there," Futoshi said.

"They're not back yet?" Yuya asked since he knew the location of Sora's fourth duel was closer to You Show than his duel had been.

"Not yet," said Ayu. "But I can't wait to tell them all about Big Bro Yuya's duel."

"Wait, I wanna tell 'em," Futoshi protested.

"All three of us can tell them," Tatsuya suggested.

"Okay!" Futoshi and Ayu agreed.

Yuya laughed and found that his previous pensive thoughts were fading. While they didn't go away completely, Yuya was able to push them aside for the time being.

By the time Kazuki, Yuzu, and Sora returned to You Show, the excitement of the victory had started to wear off but that didn't stop Ayu, Tatsuya, and Futoshi from launching into an excited description of the duel.

Yuya laughed again. "C'mon, you guys. At least let Yuzu, Kazuki, and Sora sit down," he said with a grin.

"They seem excited. I take it you won," Sora said while chewing on a candy bar.

Yuya nodded and frowned inwardly as he found his mind drifting to that boy who'd made sure he was all right after he'd been blasted into a wall by that Xyz user's summon and his words echoed in his head.

He shook his head because even that boy knew that the likelihood of Yuya trusting his word over what he'd learned himself about Sora was pretty much not going to happen. And yet that boy's words still stayed with Yuya and he found it difficult to push it aside. It was odd that his instincts seemed to be agreeing with that boy, to trust that boy's judgment even though that boy knew little, if anything at all, about Sora.

He pushed that thought out of his mind as he listened to Ayu, Futoshi, and Tatsuya eagerly recap his duel against Kyuando Eita.

"Who knew someone who's terrible at quizzes would win a quiz duel?" Kazuki said once the kids were done recapping the duel.

Yuya swatted Kazuki upside the head with a couch cushion.

"But, really, I'm proud of you, Yuya," Kazuki added while rubbing his head.

Yuya smiled at his brother as he put the couch cushion down. "So how were your duels, Sora?" he said, turning his gaze to the cyan-haired boy.

"They weren't really a challenge. I won both of them," Sora said. "And I think Yuzu is starting to get the hang of Fusion Summoning."

"That's great," Yuya said and gave Yuzu a proud smile. "I have no doubt you will definitely master Fusion Summoning soon, Yuzu."

Yuzu flushed. "Thanks," she said.

"On that note, let's go, Yuzu. We've still got some daylight left so let's go have a short training session," Sora said, jumping to his feet.

"Sure," Yuzu said and stood up before turning to Yuya. "Can you tell Dad where I've gone, Yuya?"

"Not a problem," Yuya said and glanced at Kazuki. "Are you going too, Kazuki?"

"Of course he is," Sora said before Kazuki could reply. "He's Yuzu's teacher just as much as I am."

He grabbed Kazuki's arm, pulled the startled white-haired boy to his feet, and began half-dragging half-guiding the puzzled Kazuki out of the room.

"Don't I get a say in this?" he protested as he was practically manhandled out of the lobby.

"You're Yuzu's teacher just as much as I am so naturally you've gotta be there, too," Sora said cheerfully as the two of the left the room with an amused Yuzu trailing after them.

"Sora's a lot stronger than he looks," Futoshi commented.

Yuya chuckled but nodded in agreement.

 **. . .**

Kenshin darted down the street toward the harbor right after Yuto. "Are you sure he came this way, Yuto?" he said as they ran. A few days had gone by since Kenshin's encounter with the boy who had the same face as Yuto, and Shun's encounter with those LDS members that he'd carded. Shun had disappeared before Kenshin could speak with him and they hadn't been able to contact him since then, which wasn't a big surprise since Shun hasn't been in contact with them much since they arrived in that dimension.

"I saw him," Yuto said. "I don't know why he's in this area but I saw Yuzu, Kazuki, and that Sora kid heading over here. I don't know how Shun will react if he sees Yuzu."

"True. He'll probably make the same mistake that you and I made, except I dunno if he'll be as easy to convince that Yuzu isn't Ruri as we were," Kenshin said as they reached the edge of a line of warehouses and began meandering there way around the many containers that lay in the area.

"The fact that she willingly uses Fusion Summoning should be enough to tip him off that she isn't Ruri. Ruri would never use the summoning method of the enemy, and especially not with a smile on her face," Yuto said.

"True. Bet he'll get the shock of his life when he sees Kazuki, huh?"

"Probably," Yuto admitted, his lips pressed together in a thin line. "I just wish Shun would stop being so reckless. LDS is already on high alert because of what he did to those teachers, as well as what he did a few days ago."

"Even if you remind him that this isn't our battlefield, he's just gonna ignore you," Kenshin said. "He certainly ignored me when I reminded him."

"Still. I'm hoping that I'll be able to get it through his thick skull."

"Doubtful."

Yuto's lips twisted into a grimace. "I still have to try," he resolved.

"I know, I know." Kenshin turned his gaze to the area ahead of them as he added, "I don't like the path that Shun is walking right now."

"Neither do I."

The two of them neared the harbor just in time to see a flash of dark blue that Kenshin knew belonged to Shun. They darted to the mouth of the alley they were in just in time to see Shun shove between Yuzu and Kazuki, sending the former to the ground and causing her cards to scatter, while the latter stumbled back. He activated his duel disk as he faced the dark-skinned girl that Kenshin recognized from his and Yuto's second encounter with Yuzu and Kazuki.

"If you're from LDS then I'll be your opponent," Shun said firmly.

"Are you the culprit of the repeated attacks?" the girl demanded.

"Duel me!" Shun snapped.

"Shun!" Yuto snapped, jumping over the container that was in their way and darted toward Shun while Kenshin quickly followed him. Yuto grabbed Shun's arm and added, "Stop being so reckless!"

"Yuto!" Shun said with a scowl.

"Would you just listen to us for once?" Kenshin exclaimed as he removed his mask and goggles when he came to a stop in front of Shun.

"This isn't our battlefield! These people aren't our enemies!" Yuto yelled, also removing his mask and goggles.

"This is my battlefield! In order to get Ruri back, I have to do this," Shun growled as he removed the red scarf from around his mouth.

"Would you stop seeing everyone you come across as your enemy?" Kenshin shouted.

"You shouldn't even be talking, Kenshin," Shun said, glaring at him. "Or do I need to remind you about her again? Considering you seem to be forgetting what happened the last time you ignored a threat, I suppose I should."

Kenshin winced.

"That is taking things too far, Shun," Yuto protested. "Kenshin didn't know."

"None of us know if these people are the enemy or not!"

"They are not the enemy! Shun, why can't you see that?"

"They are my enemy! I will defeat them and get Ruri back. And if you get in my way, I will defeat you too, both of you!" Shun snarled in fury.

"Listen to yourself, you idiot," Kenshin said angrily. "We're your comrades and yet you're treating us like we're the enemy just because we're trying to stop you from being reckless and fighting people who have no clue about what happened!"

"Yaiba, Hokuto, get over here and bring back up. I've found the culprit behind the attacks by the harbor," the dark-skinned girl said into her duel disk while Kenshin and Yuto gazed at Shun, who was glaring furiously at both of them.

"Wait, we don't know that he's the culprit yet," Yuzu protested.

Shun's eyes snapped toward Yuzu at that and shock caused his body to freeze. "Ruri?" he said and, removing his goggles, moved forward. "What are you doing here? Did you escape on your…?" Shun broke off as Yuto slammed a fist into his stomach, hard enough to cause Shun to double over.

"She's not Ruri," Yuto said and he caught Shun who passed out from the blow not long after Yuto finished speaking.

Kenshin winced. "Ouch. Your punches always did pack a punch..."

Yuto gave him a dry look. "Really?" he deadpanned.

"What?"

Yuto shook his head and slung Shun's unconscious form over his shoulder while Kenshin heard the dark-skinned girl tell her two companions to bring as many people as they could. He then knelt down and picked up a single card before turning to Yuzu and Kazuki, holding up the card. "This card doesn't suit either of you," he said.

"That's too bad, but I don't like hearing that about presents that I give people," Sora said while giving the two of them a cool look. "Why don't I show you just how amazing that card is?"

Yuto just gazed coolly back at Sora.

"I don't think this is the time, Yuto," Kenshin said.

"Cut it out, you two," Yuzu scolded as she stepped between Yuto and Sora.

"Masumi!" a shout sounded just as a bright pink light suddenly erupted, filling up the harbor before it faded away. Once it was gone, Yuto and Shun were also gone.

"Oh. come on!" Kenshin exclaimed and scowled at the spot where his two best friends had been moments before and he turned and darted off, hoping to get as far away from the harbor as possible before he found himself being chased by that LDS student again, and, this time, she would have reinforcements.

 **. . .**

Yuya darted after Yaiba and Hokuto toward where Masumi was standing, staring at the spot in front of her in bewilderment while Yuzu was staring at her bracelet, Kazuki just looked puzzled, and Sora was frowning.

"Where's the culprit?" Yaiba asked.

"They disappeared...and one ran off," Masumi said. "I didn't really see which way he went."

Yuya walked past them and walked over to join Yuzu and Kazuki. "Are you two okay?" he asked in concern.

Yuzu just stared at her bracelet. "He disappeared again," she whispered. "And these people keep saying I am and I'm not Ruri. Just what… I don't know..." She buried her face into her hands as she whispered, "I don't even know what's going on anymore."

"You and me both," Kazuki murmured, one hand self-consciously toying with the pendant around his neck and his brow furrowed in confusion.

Yuya gazed at Yuzu, unsure of what to say that would help but then he noticed that Yuzu's cards were scattered on the ground "Why are your cards all on the ground like this?" he said and knelt down and began gathering Yuzu's cards together. Once they were together in a neat stack, Yuya returned them to Yuzu's duel disk before walking over to rejoin Yuzu and handing her the duel disk.

She gazed at him as she took the duel disk, the shock still on her face. Yuya gave her a small smile.

The sound of tires on pavement sounded and Yuya turned toward the noise in time to see cars bearing the LDS logo pulling up to the harbor.

Masumi immediately darted toward the cars while Sora walked over to join them. "We should go," he said, placing a hand on Yuzu's shoulder and gently guiding her away. "You should hurry up, Yuya, Kazuki."

"Erm, right," Kazuki said, letting go of his pendant and quickly following Sora and Yuzu while Yuya started after them.

"I heard that you need two more wins to enter the Maiami Championship," Yaiba said, causing Yuya to stop and look at him. "I wish you luck, though it might be impossible for you."

"What do you mean by that? And how do you know about my wins?" Yuya said in puzzlement.

Yaiba didn't respond as he darted off.

Yuya frowned, still confused, but decided that he would worry about Yaiba's words later and scanned the area, looking for where his friends and his brother had gone. As he did so, his eyes landed on a single card resting on the ground nearby and he picked it up, looking at it.

Fusion.

"I guess I missed one," Yuya said and, tucking the card into his deck so that he didn't lose it, he darted off in the direction his friends and brother had gone.

 **. . .**

 **Next Time: The Shadows of Rebellion**

 **. . .**


	6. The Shadows of Rebellion

****Hello everyone! I bring you...an update!****

 ** **And I have a set date of when the next update is coming. It's going to be when I get back from my vacation on Sunday, October 21** **st** **.****

 ** **So, now that that's out of the way, on to the chapter.****

 ** **Wait, I'm forgetting something. Oh yeah!****

 ** **Thank you to** ** _talesfanjmf, decode9, Guest x2, Queen of Peaceful Nights,_** **and** ** _MagicalPrincess07_** **for reviewing the last chapter.****

 ** **And, as usual, thank you to** ** _EndlessNight025_** **for being an awesome beta-reader/co-author.****

 ** **So there are no non-canon duels in this chapter but I do still hope you enjoy it. Reviews, as always, are much appreciated.****

 ** **Turn 6****

 ** **The Shadows of Rebellion****

Yuto unceremoniously dumped Shun's unconscious form on one of the cots in their hideout and turned to the breathless Kenshin who was glaring at him. Yuto raised an eyebrow at the irritated look in his friend's eyes. "What?" he said.

"I thought I said to grab me the next time you decide to randomly disappear," Kenshin said, leaning against the wall and taking a few more deep breaths.

"Once again, I was not expecting it, anymore than I was the other times," Yuto said and glanced at where Shun was laying out cold. "He will probably be out for a bit longer. At least I didn't have to walk very far after I was warped away. I ended up only about a block away from here."

"I'm just glad we're not too far from the harbor 'cause I didn't have to run too far to get here. Plus, I got away before anyone saw which way I was going, I'm pretty sure, anyway."

"You're pretty sure?" Yuto raised an eyebrow at his friend.

"I wasn't followed," was all Kenshin said.

"I suppose that's a good thing." Yuto walked over to the desk and reached under it, pulling out two water bottles and tossing one to Kenshin as he added, "Shun's going to be upset with me when he wakes up."

"Considering you punched him hard enough to knock him out, I'm not going to be surprised." Kenshin glanced at Shun's unconscious form sadly and added, "I really wish he would just listen to us. I know he's really obsessed with finding Ruri but..." He sighed and shook his head, not completing his sentence but he didn't have to since he and Yuto have already talked about their feelings regarding Shun's actions before. Yuto felt the same way but knew there was no point in talking about it; while he wanted desperately to get through to his best friend's thick skull, he wasn't sure his words were going to be enough.

A groan sounded and Yuto pushed those thoughts out of his mind and turned to gaze at Shun as the taller boy stirred and his yellow-green eyes fluttered open. He sat up slowly, one hand holding his stomach gingerly, as his eyes flickered around the room he was laying in.

"Are you okay?" Yuto asked.

Shun's eyes flicked to him and darkened. "You punched me." It was a matter-of-fact statement.

"It was the only way to get you to stop and calm down for a second, Shun," Yuto said as he sat down across from his best friend whose lips twisted into a scowl.

"Why did you do that? Ruri was right there!"

"That wasn't Ruri."

"What?"

"It wasn't Ruri. That girl is learning how to Fusion Summon, Shun, and with a smile on her face. Ruri would never learn the summoning method of the enemy with a smile on her face and you know that," Yuto said.

Shun was still. "She...wasn't Ruri? B...But she looked just like Ruri..." he trailed off, his brow furrowing in puzzlement. "Why does she look just like Ruri?"

"I wish I knew myself. I made the same mistake when I first saw her as well," Yuto said.

Kenshin pushed away from the wall, the water bottle held loosely in his hand. "There's something really odd going on around here," he said. "Yuto and I have discussed this a few times since we came to this dimension but it can't be a coincidence that there's a girl who looks exactly like Ruri, a boy who looks exactly like Yuto, and a boy who looks exactly like me in this dimension."

"What?" Shun said in puzzlement and then frowned. "Now that I think about it, there was a boy next to Ruri, or who I thought was Ruri. I only gave him a passing glance, but one thing I did notice was that he bore an unkindly resemblance to you, Kenshin. I was too focused on that girl that I didn't really think about it more, though. But there's a boy who looks like Yuto?"

"There is?" Yuto also wondered and frowned at Kenshin who suddenly shifted uncomfortably.

"You've been keeping something from me. I know you mentioned that you suspected there was someone who looked like me in this dimension but you sound as if you've confirmed it."

"Erm..." Kenshin faltered and, when Yuto frowned at him, sighed and added, "Okay, okay. I kinda ran into him not long after Shun's attack on those three LDS members a few days ago. I just wanted to make sure he was okay since he'd been thrown into a wall because of Shun's summon but, yeah, he had the same exact face as you."

Shun's lips curved into a frown and he shook his head. "I don't really care if there are lookalikes of you two and Ruri in this dimension," he said. "Ruri isn't in this dimension, I am almost sure of that, but Akaba Reiji is still my ticket to getting Ruri back." He started to stand up but winced and clutched at his stomach, a scowl twisting his lips.

"You're not thinking of going back out there, are you?" Yuto asked wearily.

"I told you before, Yuto, I will defeat anyone who gets in my way of getting Ruri back," Shun snapped and forced himself to his feet. "It doesn't matter what you two think, what you two believe, I stand by my words."

Kenshin gazed at Shun sadly. "Are we even your comrades anymore? Has your desire to find Ruri by any means necessary changed that, just because we don't want to get innocents caught up in this?" He closed his eyes and added, "And don't remind me about Miyako. I know that I made a mistake in trusting her, I know that I nearly paid the ultimate price and nearly destroyed the Resistance because I trusted her, and I know that I shouldn't trust anyone because anyone could be the enemy hiding in plain sight."

"If you truly know that then why do you insist on trusting the people of this dimension?" Shun said coolly.

Kenshin's eyes opened and he gave Shun a long look. "I don't trust them," he admitted. "There are only two people in this dimension that I trust and that is you and Yuto. Even though I don't trust them, I refuse to change who I am and stoop to the level of the enemy."

Shun's form shook and he stalked forward, grabbing Kenshin's shirt and yanking him up until they were eye to eye. "Are you saying that I am acting like the enemy?" he demanded furiously.

"You are!" Kenshin retorted. "Using the same technology as the enemy, carding people just like the enemy, and you don't even seem to be discriminating between those who use Fusion and those who don't anymore. So long as they are part of LDS, they are the enemy; that's the mindset that you seem to have developed and how is that any different from the enemy? Academia saw us as nothing more than people to card just because we weren't from Academia and you are doing the same thing by attacking LDS people for the simple reason that they are part of LDS!"

Shun's yellow-green eyes flared with rage as he threw Kenshin to the ground. "How dare you compare me to Academia?" he snarled. "How dare you compare me to the enemy who destroyed our home?"

"You are just like the enemy but you don't see it! You are so blinded by your rage that you can't see that your actions are almost just like the actions of Academia!" Kenshin shouted back as he jumped to his feet.

"Why you..."

"Stop it, you two!" Yuto finally snapped, having enough of the argument between Shun and Kenshin, knowing that if he didn't intervene then it was likely to turn violent, and physical, and someone was going to get hurt. "We are comrades and we should not be fighting amongst ourselves like this!"

Shun scoffed and stormed past Yuto and Kenshin with enough force to cause Kenshin to stumble back.

Yuto whirled around. "Shun!" He started toward him but Shun ignored him as he stormed out of the building, slamming the door hard behind him and plunging the building into silence.

Yuto stopped and gazed at the closed door and closed his eyes. "Shun..." he murmured.

Kenshin sighed. "I'm sorry," he whispered, a small frown on his lips. "I didn't mean to lash out like that. But...I just lost my temper."

"It's all right, Kenshin. I know you didn't mean to react that way but tensions were just really high. Let's give Shun some time to calm down," Yuto said, turning his gaze from the closed door to his friend.

"All right," Kenshin said, though Yuto could still see faint guilt in his eyes and guilt in his voice as he added, "I just...I feel like I drove him away and I'm afraid that something will happen. I don't want anything to happen to him."

Yuto's eyes softened and he placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Shun will be all right," he assured the other boy. "He's strong, resourceful, and far from stupid. No matter how angry he is, he can take care of himself. After we've given him some time to calm down, we can try to speak to him again."

"Okay," Kenshin agreed.

 **. . .**

Yuya hummed as he studied the cards that lay scattered around him. It was late at night and, while he knew he should be trying to get some sleep, he found his thoughts were too focused on his upcoming duel and on the thoughts that have been plaguing his mind ever since after his duel against Kyuando.

 _ _Surpassing the expectations and imagination of the audience? The possibility of an evolution in Pendulum Summoning? If I could see that possibility then, maybe, that can help with the first problem I'm having, but why can't I see it? What is Akaba Reiji seeing that I'm not?__ Yuya thought and, with a groan of frustration, flopped backwards onto his back and gazed up at the ceiling, his brow furrowed and his eyes narrowed as he tried to think about what Reiji could have possibly meant.

He rolled onto his side and his eyes landed on a lone card laying on the ground. Sitting up, he picked it up and studied it. __Fusion...That's right. I forgot to give this back to Yuzu earlier after that incident in the harbor,__ he thought and made a note to give it back to Yuzu after his third duel in the morning.

There was a knock on his door at that moment and Yuya, putting the card on the ground, looked up.

"Come in," he called, knowing that it was likely his brother. His mother would announce that she was there and, last Yuya heard, she had already gone to bed, though he did wonder why his brother was still up.

The door opened and Kazuki made his way into the room. "You're still up," he said matter-of-factly as he closed the door and sat down across from Yuya, being careful to avoid disturbing the small piles of cards that lay scattered on the ground.

"I can't sleep, so I decided to try to rework my deck a bit," Yuya said and glanced at the cards that lay around him. "I've also been thinking about what Reiji said and what I talked with Nico about and I guess that's what's keeping me up. What about you? Why are you still up? I thought you had to get up early tomorrow to meet up with Sora and Yuzu for Sora's last qualifying match."

"I couldn't sleep, either," Kazuki admitted and pulled out his deck, placing it on the ground and adding, "I guess I was thinking quite a bit about what I've been learning and whether I can actually do it."

"Do what, exactly?" Yuya said in puzzlement.

Kazuki glanced at his deck, his brow furrowed. "I want to surprise you so I won't mention it now," he said as he spread out his cards and scanned them. "But I've also been thinking about everything that's happened in this city, not just those attacks but also what's been happening around Yuzu and me. I just feel that something big is about to happen and I don't know why."

Yuya studied his brother, noticing the pensive expression on his face, and remembered the brief conversation he had with him right before the three duels to defend You Show began. He and Kazuki had been so busy since then, with Yuya focusing on his qualifying matches and Kazuki focusing on teaching Yuzu how to Fusion Summon, but Kazuki had mentioned that if Yuya still wanted to hear what was bothering him then he would talk about it.

"What's been bothering you, Kazuki?" he asked. "You and Yuzu for that matter. Something just seems to be on both of your minds that it's distracting you even more so than usual, and Yuzu… I've never seen Yuzu so confused and upset before like she was earlier today and I don't even know how to help."

Kazuki sighed. "I don't know what's going on around here anymore than Yuzu does," he said as he gathered his cards together and began shuffling them. "What happened in the harbor, what happened when Yuzu and I spoke with Sora, what happened when Yuzu and I went to confront Sawatari, those three incidents are all connected and I can't make any sense out of what happened during them."

"Kazuki, you're not making much sense," Yuya said as he gathered his cards together, not noticing when he accidentally added the Fusion card to his deck, and shuffled them. "What do you mean by those three incidents are connected?"

"The same two people who were there when Sawatari was attacked were also there when Yuzu and I spoke to Sora and again at the harbor earlier today," Kazuki said. "And...Yuya, one of them looks almost exactly like you while the other looks almost exactly like me."

"What?" Yuya said, confused. __Someone looks exactly like me?__

"I thought he was you, at first," Kazuki admitted. "But then I noticed the differences and I realized that he wasn't you, and not just because he used Xyz Summoning. The way he acted, the little differences in how he looked, it all pointed to that; his name may be similar to yours–Yuto–but it's not the same."

"Xyz Summoning? He was the attacker?" _ _The same one that I ran into in that alley, the one that the masked person who made sure I was okay confirmed was the attacker__ _,_ Yuya thought with a small frown.

"No, not the same one who attacked those LDS teachers," Kazuki said with a shake of his head. "He actually stopped the actual attacker by knocking him out at the harbor earlier today, but… I just can't get my mind off the fact that he looks so much like you and I don't know why anymore than I know why there's someone out there who looks exactly like me."

Yuya gazed at his brother before putting down his deck and moving over to sit beside the white-haired boy, gently curling an arm around his shoulders. "I don't know what's going on, either, or why there are people who look like you and me in this city," he said. "I wish I did because then I could help you."

"I know," Kazuki said and leaned against Yuya, adding, "You've always helped me, no matter what. Even when you were being bullied by the other students after Dad disappeared, you still tried to help me come out of my shell, you always work so hard just to get me to laugh and smile, and, no matter what, you've always stayed by my side, even when I tried to isolate myself from you and the rest of You Show. It was because of you that I was able to leave my shell enough to be able to interact with Yuzu, Gongenzaka, and the kids at You Show. I ...thank you for that."

"Kazuki, you don't have to thank me. You're my brother, you're family. I will always be there for you, no matter what," Yuya said quietly, a small smile on his lips. "And I will always try to get you to smile and laugh and be happy. I want you to be happy, Little Bro."

Kazuki didn't even protest the nickname. "I know," he said softly and closed his eyes, adding, "Yuzu's mostly upset because she seems to be at the center of everything, Yuya, she and you, actually."

"Me and her? Why?" Yuya asked.

"Every time you show up, Yuzu's bracelet shines and the boy who looks like you, and anyone he happens to be touching or are touching him, get transported away and she doesn't know why," Kazuki said.

"That's...weird," Yuya admitted.

"Tell me about it." Kazuki fell silent and added, "I really shouldn't have brought this up. You've already got so much on your mind with your last qualifying duels that I shouldn't have added more to that."

"Don't worry about it, Kazuki," Yuya insisted, rubbing his brother's back comfortingly. "I can handle it and I'm glad that you told me about what's bothering you. I don't like seeing you upset or more distracted than usual."

Kazuki yawned at that moment.

Yuya chuckled and then yawned himself.

"Yawns are contagious," Kazuki said in amusement, rubbing his eyes and leaning away from Yuya who removed his arm from around his brother's shoulder. "Thanks, Yuya, for listening to me."

Yuya sighed and shook his head, a wry smile on his lips. "Once again, you don't have to thank me," he said and glanced at the deck he'd left on the ground in front of them. "I should probably get some sleep. I have an important duel tomorrow, after all."

"Do you know who you're going against?" Kazuki asked.

"No. I just have the address. I'm meeting Nico there at ten." Yuya moved over to his deck and picked it up before standing up and stretching his arms above his head. Kazuki, returning his deck to his deck holder, also stood up.

"I should also get some sleep," he said. "I don't think Sora'll be happy if I fall asleep during his last match."

"Probably not. Good night, Little Bro."

"Good night...Big Bro," Kazuki said with a faint half-smile before he turned and left the bedroom.

Yuya watched him go, a smile on his lips because, no matter how faint it was, he was glad to see his brother smile. Rare though it was, it was nice and made Yuya happy. "Sleep well, Kazuki," he said quietly and walked over to his bed to try to get some sleep before his third big match in the morning.

 **. . .**

 _"Big Brother! Big Brother!" An excited shout._

 _"What is it, Little Brother?" An amused response._

 _"Look what I got!"_

 _"Oh? Now that is a nice card. Who gave it to you?"_

 _"*** did! She said that it would work well with my deck. What do you think, Big Brother ****?"_

 _"I think it will, too. It definitely suits your deck well. You're really happy, aren't you?"_

 _"Uh huh. My deck's finally finished! Now I can finally start dueling and I can be just like you!"_

 _A laugh. "Just like me, huh? You do know that I'm only just starting out as a duelist myself."_

 _A giggle. "You're the Regional Duel Champion and you're only fourteen. That's amazing, Big Brother ****. I wanna be just like you when I grow up!"_

 _Another laugh. "C'mon, Little Brother ****, let's go to the park since you're clearly so happy and excited that you need to blow off some of that extra energy. Dad won't be happy if you're too excited to go to sleep tonight."_

 _A laugh._

 **. . .**

Yuya sat up from his sleep, rubbing his head and frowning to himself at the odd dream that echoed in his head. It was vague. All he heard were voices and he didn't recognize any of them; not only that but the names were so garbled that Yuya hadn't been able to understand them. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and glanced off to the side, surprised when he saw a faint glow coming from his deck.

He reached for his deck and lifted up the slightly glowing card. __Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon? It's glowing? Why? Cards don't normally glow like this,__ he thought as he gazed at the glowing card.

He wondered what was happening but decided that it was probably just a trick of the light or something. He rested the card on top of his deck and, yawning, glanced at the time, frowning when he saw that it was five in the morning, a good three hours before his alarm was due to go off.

That dream… that odd dream had been what woke him up and Yuya had no idea why. Nothing about that dream made sense, even more so because Yuya could remember the words spoken clearly and he normally never remembered his dreams.

He sighed and smiled ruefully. "Well, I doubt I'm gonna be able to go back to sleep now," he said quietly to himself and got to his feet. He made his way out of his bedroom and across the hallway to the bathroom.

After showering and getting changed, Yuya sat on his bed with his back resting against the wall, his crimson gaze resting on the ceiling. It was only five forty five and Yuya was sure that no one else in the house was awake. He didn't want to risk waking anyone up so he just remained in his room.  
A soft bark sounded and Yuya glanced at the closed door before getting up and walking toward it, opening it to reveal En sitting on the ground and wagging his short tail enthusiastically. He barked again and jumped to his paws, his tail wagging even more so than before.

"Do you need to go out, En?" Yuya asked while briefly wondering why En hadn't woken up his mom since that was what the dog usually did whenever he needed to go out. That was the main reason why Yoko kept the door to her room open, just in case En needed to go out during the night.  
En barked softly and then whined, gazing up at Yuya with large eyes. Yuya smiled and, reaching down, gently lifted the small dog into his arms, scratching his ears. Even though he did find it a bit irritating that his mom always brought stray cats and dogs into their homes, he did like cats and dogs, so he didn't really mind it.

"C'mon, let's go outside," he said and carried En toward the stairs. As there were two ways to get downstairs, and Yuya was not about to try using the pole with En in his arms, he just made his way quietly down the stairs. The stairs were right by Kazuki's room and Yuya didn't want to wake up his brother.

He made his way toward the kitchen and placed En on the ground as he walked over to the sliding doors, sliding them open just enough to allow En to bolt outside. As he gazed outside, he was surprised to find that there was someone out there. Since En wasn't barking or acting hostile, and just looking around for a place to go, Yuya realized that it was either his mom or Kazuki.

He stepped out into the backyard as he caught sight of white hair. __What are you doing out here this early in the morning, Kazuki?__ he thought with a small frown as he studied his brother's form.

Kazuki shifted so that he was gazing at the night sky for a moment and Yuya noticed, at that moment, the purple-edged blade of Kazuki's duel disk. He frowned to himself, wondering what Kazuki was doing, when his brother lowered his gaze and studied the cards in his hand.

En barked and Kazuki glanced at him and then toward the sliding door. "Yuya? What are you doing up this early?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Yuya said as he walked over to join his brother. "What're you doing out here? And why's your duel disk activated?"

Kazuki deactivated his duel disk and returned the cards in his hand to his deck. "I want it to be a surprise," he said. "And, well, I woke up about an hour ago after having an odd dream."

"Really?" Yuya raised an eyebrow, surprised. "What was it about?"

"I don't really know," Kazuki admitted, turning his gaze back to the night sky, one hand wrapping around the sapphire pendant around his neck and Yuya noticed that the pendant was glowing faintly. "I just heard voices. Everything else was really blurry, so I couldn't make out anything else about what was going on, I couldn't even make out any names because whenever a name was spoken, it was really garbled. Oddly enough, though, I can remember everything that was said."

"Huh. My dream was the same way," Yuya admitted. "It's what woke me up, too." He turned his crimson gaze to the stars. "It's a nice night, though."

"Yeah. We can see the stars rather clearly today," Kazuki mused and, raising the hand that had been clasped around his pendant, he pointed. "I think I see Pisces."

"Really?" Yuya studied the stars and shook his head, a rueful smile on his lips. He couldn't make out any of the constellations in the sky, except for the Big and Little Dipper. "I just see stars."

Kazuki chuckled and shifted closer to Yuya. "Right there," he said, pointing. "Do you see where that bright star is? That's the start of the Pisces constellation."

Yuya searched for the star that Kazuki was pointing out, pressing his lips together until he found a bright star among the millions that lay scattered around it. "I think I see it," he said.

"Some constellations are hard to see with the naked eye," Kazuki admitted, lowering his hand. "But I think it's kinda fun trying to find them. Even if you can't find them, it's still nice to just look up at the stars. I find it rather relaxing."

"You've always liked stargazing, and astronomy in general," Yuya commented, lowering his head and smiling at his brother. "Remember when Dad caught you in the backyard at three in the morning when you were nine?"

"Yeah. He didn't even get too mad. He just sat down beside me and tried to find any constellations, even though he wasn't able to find them," Kazuki said. "I suppose, back then, he was a good dad. I wish that hadn't changed."

Yuya winced at the resentment in his brother's voice but he also heard the underlying tone of sadness and longing. He smiled sadly, knowing that while his brother did resent their father for disappearing and leaving them to deal with the aftermath, he also did really miss him and wanted him to come back safe and sound.

He curled his arm around his brother's shoulder and turned his gaze back to the stars. "You miss him." It wasn't a question.

Kazuki didn't respond for a moment. "He's our Dad," he said simply. "I resent him a little for leaving us to deal with the fallout his disappearance caused, yeah, but that doesn't change the fact that I do love and miss him."

"I miss him, too," Yuya said and smiled. Wherever his dad was, it didn't matter because Yuya knew, in his heart, that he, his brother, his mom, and his dad would be reunited eventually. He didn't know when it would be but that was what his heart was telling him, and has been telling him since the day his dad disappeared, and he still believed that.  
"Look, there's Pegasus," Kazuki said, pointing.

Yuya narrowed his eyes at he gazed at the sky where Kazuki was pointing. "Where?"

"There," Kazuki said, not moving his hand.

"I still don't see it."

Kazuki reached out a hand and adjusted Yuya's head so that he was gazing at a certain part of the sky. "Now do you see it?" he asked.

"Kinda… doesn't really look like a Pegasus," Yuya muttered.

"Maybe not that much, but I'm positive that's the Pegasus constellation."

"Well, you know more about that than I do, Mr. Stargazer."

Kazuki just laughed.

The two of them fell silent and went back to studying the stars.

 **. . .**

Yoko watched her two sons stargaze with a small smile on her face as she adjusted her grip on En. The Corgi was curled peacefully in her arms, his little tail wagging but he didn't make a sound, content to be held by Yoko.

Yoko had woken up to En's barking and, when she'd come to check on him and see what he wanted, she found him barking at nothing, as usual. She also found her twin sons standing in the center of the backyard, talking about their dad and gazing at the stars.

Hearing the sadness and longing in Kazuki's voice made Yoko's heart clench; she didn't like seeing either of her sons sad but, at the same time, she knew that Yushou's disappearance had really hurt both of them. Kazuki hid his behind a wall of resentment while Yuya hid his behind the mask of a clown but it was still there, lingering within her sons' hearts.

 _ _It's been three years, Yushou__ _,_ Yoko thought, gazing up at the stars herself as she gently pet En's head. __I hope you come home soon. Your sons really miss you, and so do I.__

She smiled to herself as she thought about the first time she ever met Yushou, when he had interrupted her duel against those gang members who'd kidnapped one of her friends. He'd been so adamant about solving the problem without violence, insisting that duels were not a tool for conflict, and that they were to bring smiles to everyone. She remembered how he had mesmerized everyone with his acrobatics, his monsters, and his flashy moves and how smitten with him that she had become after that performance.

Sakaki Yushou. There was no denying that there wasn't a greater Entertainment Duelist in the world than him, at least at the moment.

Yoko was sure that, someday, Yuya would surpass his father. It would take time and practice and more experience but Yoko believed that her son would definitely surpass his father.

She turned her gaze to her other son. While Kazuki wasn't as big an entertainer as his brother, he did have his own style and his own charm when he dueled. He was capable of getting his audience to enjoy his duels and smile even though he didn't follow the same style of dueling as Yushou and Yuya did. He found his own way of dueling and his own way of entertaining the audience and Yoko couldn't be prouder.

Kazuki has really grown since the day Yushou disappeared and he disappeared into his shell. Now that he was slowly moving further away from his shell, he was also slowly growing stronger and into the kind of duelist he wanted to be. What kind of duelist that was, Yoko didn't know but she knew that he would still make her proud because she knew that he would still try his hardest to make his audience smile and enjoy his duels.

He may not be a flashy entertainer like Yushou and Yuya but that didn't mean he wasn't an entertainer. All duelists were entertainers in their own right; they just exercised how they entertained the audience in different ways. Some showed it by showing off their strength and showcasing their monsters. Others showed it by surprising the audience with moves that the audience never expected. It didn't matter how one entertained the audience; all that mattered was that the duelist found a style of dueling that suited them.

Yuya had found his. There was no denying that he was a little entertainer just like his father and the Entertainment Dueling that he learned from his father was the style that suited him best. Yoko knew that wasn't the end of it; if Yuya ever wanted to surpass his father, as Yoko knew he would, then he would take the Entertainment Dueling he learned from his father and make it his own. He would find a way of morphing the style of dueling to suit himself because, even though he was like his father, he was also his own person and, as his own person, he should craft his dueling style to fit himself.

Kazuki, on the other hand, was still finding a style of dueling that suited him but Yoko knew that he would find it eventually. His own style, his own way of entertaining the audience, his own way of making his father proud of him.

That was Kazuki's true goal. Yoko has always known that. Kazuki's great respect for his father and his desire to make his father proud of him was what drove him to get stronger as a duelist. That was why he taught himself Fusion Summoning.

 _ _Though I have no doubt Yushou is already proud of you,__ Yoko thought, still petting En's head as she studied her twin children and, deciding not to interrupt the peaceful moment, quietly made her way back into the house.

She left the door open for when Yuya and Kazuki were ready to come back inside and walked over to the kitchen. Placing En on the ground, she moved over to the linen closet to refill En's food bowl as well as feed the other dogs and cats that she had picked up.

It was only six thirty in the morning and Yoko decided to wait until her sons came back inside before asking them if they wanted breakfast or if they wanted to wait a while longer.

 **. . .**

With a sharp cry, Yuto sat up and gasped, a cold sweat covering his face as he gazed around wildly. He felt a hand on his shoulder and jumped until he heard a familiar voice assuring him that it was all right. Blinking his eyes a few times, he turned to the source of the voice to find Kenshin, his form outlined by the sunlight, standing next to his cot.

"Kenshin?"

"You screamed," Kenshin explained. "You had another nightmare, huh?"

Yuto nodded, knowing that there was no point in denying it because this wasn't the first time that he's woken Kenshin up with his screams. Just like Kenshin would wake him up with his own nightmares, so did he. "I'm fine now," he said as he took a few deep breaths.

"No you're not, you're shaking," Kenshin said, placing his hands on Yuto's, which were indeed shaking. "You wanna talk about it?"

Yuto hesitated but nodded. "It was the initial attack," he said. "It had come out of nowhere. One minute, you, me, Shun, and Ruri were enjoying lunch in the courtyard at the Spade Branch and the next thing we knew, buildings were exploding, people were screaming, and those giant...monsters were destroying everything. And then the duelists...teenagers like us marching on us and using their duel disk to turn people into cards or viciously dueling those who were brave enough to challenge them. It was..."

"Terrible," Kenshin finished. "I know. So much happened in the span of only a few minutes."

"Sometimes I wonder if these nightmares will ever go away," Yuto said quietly.

"Sometimes, I wish they would, but at least talking about them helps. Right?"

"It does." Yuto would admit that it did. Talking about his nightmares helped him to come to terms, at least somewhat, with them. After a few moments of silence, Yuto asked, "What time is it?"  
"Just after seven in the morning," Kenshin said and sat down on the cot beside Yuto. "Do you think Shun's calmed down by now?"

"I hope so. I don't know where he went when he stormed out of here, though, so we may have to search the city for him."

"Probably. At least we have a good layout of the city from how many times we've walked around it since we got here," Kenshin mused and stretched his arms above his head. "But you are alright, right?"

"Yes, I'm fine, Kenshin," Yuto assured his friend as he stood up and stretched. "Talking helped, as usual."

Kenshin nodded. "Are you going to find Sora again today?" he asked.

"Possibly. Let's focus on finding Shun for now."

"Okay."

The two of them left the hideout and began making their way into the city, Yuto's goggles and mask were back in place as were Kenshin's while Kenshin also had the hood of his cloak over his head again. They moved quickly down the street; since it was early in the morning, there weren't very many people out so there was no one around to comment on the two teens who were darting down the street.

"The city's huge," Kenshin said as they came to a stop at the heart of Central Park. "We're going to have to split up."

"Unfortunately, I think so, too," Yuto agreed and scanned the area, looking for a suitable place to regroup before he decided that where they were would be best. "Let's meet back here at noon and see what to do next."

"Sure," Kenshin said and he and Yuto darted off in opposite directions, Yuto heading toward LDS tower while Kenshin headed toward the harbor.

 _ _Shun, I hope you're alright and have calmed down by now__ _,_ Yuto thought as he ran.

 **. . .**

Yuzu, Kazuki, and Sora darted down the street, heading toward Unno Divination School where Yuya's third qualifying duel was taking place. Since Sora's duel had just finished, with Sora's victory, the three had decided to go and try to catch the end of Yuya's duel. Yuzu was looking forward to it because she hadn't been able to catch any of Yuya's other duels and, since Sora had finished his duel far quicker than the other times, they had the time to actually make it.

Both of them reached the school that Kazuki was quick to point out looked like a haunted house and made their way into it. Yuzu scanned the darkened corridor as they made their way down the stairs toward the duel arena. "So who is Yuya's opponent anyway?" she asked.

"Don't know," Kazuki said.

"Huh. I never even knew a school like this existed. Wow, the more you know," Sora mused as they jumped down the remaining steps and darted into the stands just in time to see Yuya, covered in a few scraps, scramble out of a pile of rubble that lay at the heart of the Action Field, holding a single card in his hand.

"What did we miss?" Sora said in puzzlement.

"I don't know," Yuzu, also stumped, as she watched Yuya jump back away from the rubble.

"I send the Action Magic Miracle to the Cemetery to destroy Lock Draw," Yuya said as he discarded the card in his hand.

"Has Sakaki Yuya's fate changed? He overcame destiny with a miracle," Yuya's opponent—the screen showed that her name was Houchun Mieru—whispered, her words picked up by the microphone rested around her ear.

"I will bet everything on this card," Yuya declared and placed a hand on his deck and drew a card and froze.

Yuzu wasn't sure what went on in Yuya's mind but she watched as Yuya jumped onto the pile of rubble, balancing carefully as he stretched out his arms. "Ladies and Gentlemen!" he declared.

"Wonder what Yuya has in store. C'mon, let's get closer," Sora suggested and made his way down the stairs toward the bottom of the stands. Yuzu and Kazuki jogged after him, watching as Yuya set the Pendulum Scale with Stargazer Magician and Timegazer Magician.

"Sway, Pendulum of the soul! Draw an arc of light across the ether! Pendulum Summon! Appear now, my loyal monsters!" Yuya chanted as, in a burst of three lights, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, Entermate Partnaga, and Entermate Kaleido Scorpion appeared on the field between the two columns of blue light.

"Take a look at the gallant figures that have graced our stage for a second showing," Yuya declared.

"Pointless. I activate Tarotray's effect," Mieru said and Yuzu watched as all of Yuya's monsters were switched into Defense Position. "I am glad that you avoided your fate, Sakaki Yuya. Now I can defeat you with a clear conscious. Oh, and don't forget that when you end your turn, the effect of Prediction Princess Ouijamorrigan will destroy all of your Defense Position monsters and inflict 200 damage to you for each."

"He only has 300 Life Points left. He'll lose if that happens," Yuzu realized.

"I wonder about that, Miss Mieru," Yuya said with a polite smile.

Mieru's eyes widened with surprise.

"I activate the effect of Entermate Springoose in my Cemetery," Yuya said. "By banishing it, I can return two cards on my field to my hand." A pale yellow goose in a dark blue top-hat with a pink polka dot bow around is neck appeared between Yuya's two Pendulum monsters. "And I choose to add Timegazer Magician and Stargazer Magician back to my hand."  
"Now I tribute Kaledio Scorpion to Advance Summon Stargazer Magician," Yuya declared and placed the card on his duel disk. Scorpion vanished to be replace by the white-and-blue clad magician.

"Next, I activate Fusion!" Yuya declared.

Sora stumbled.

Yuzu gasped.

Kazuki stared in shock.

"I fuse Stargazer Magician and Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!" Yuya declared as Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon and Stargazer Magician jumped into the vortex that materialized in the air above him.

"Wielder of mysterious powers, become a bright light in the eye of the dragon! Fusion Summon! Come forth, arcane dragon-wielder of ancient magic! Rune-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!" Yuya chanted as, in a burst of light, a massive dragon emerged onto the field with a roar. Bearing the same coloring as Odd-Eyes with the white breastplate and the red scales, the new dragon had a runed plate covering its right eye and connected to the golden ring on the dragon's back. It had 3000 Attack, more than enough to to defeat Mieru's monster.

Mieru quickly brought herself out of her shock. "Even so, you won't be able to wipe out my Life Points with just him," she said. "Your fate remains unchanged."

Smiling, Yuya glanced at Rune-Eyes. "If Rune-Eyes uses a Spellcaster-type monster that was on the field as one of its Fusion Materials, the number of times it can attack changes based on that Spellcaster's Level. Since Stargazer Magician is Level 5, Rune-Eyes can attack three times."

"T...Three times?" Mieru gasped.

"It's showtime!" Yuya declared as the golden ring on Rune-Eyes' back began to glow and an orb of light split into a triangle within the ring and Yuya jumped onto Rune-Eyes' back, that smile remaining on his lips.

Yuzu was smiling as well as Yuya successfully destroyed all of Mieru's monsters with his new Fusion Monster and knocked out all of Mieru's Life Points, ending the duel in his victory.

Yuzu, Kazuki, and Sora were quick to get onto the duel arena's floor and bolt over to join Yuya. Ayu, Futoshi, and Tatsuya got to Yuya first and were happily congratulating him on his victory.

Yuzu smiled as she, Kazuki, and Sora added their own congratulations.

"You know what?" Tatsuya said once the congratulations died away. "Since you Fusion Summoned using a Pendulum Monster, maybe that should be called a Pendulum-Fusion."

"I knew Yuya would do something amazing," Sora exclaimed. "He performed a perfect Fusion Summon without me teaching him, like Kazuki did during his supposed first time using that summoning method."

"For the billionth time, my duel against Himari was my first time," Kazuki objected.

"Still don't believe it."

Kazuki huffed but wrapped an arm around Yuya's shoulders. "I'm so proud of you, Yuya," he said with a smile that caused Yuya to smile brightly in return before he glanced at Yuzu.

Stepping away from Kazuki, who released him, Yuya held out the Fusion card to the pink-haired girl. "Sorry that I used it without asking you," he said and, when Yuzu took the card, he added, "You have been trying to change yourself into a different Yuzu, and Kazuki has been doing the same. I think it's my turn to do that. Thanks to you, I got the hint of just how to do that. Next time, I will definitely grasp what lays beyond Pendulum Summoning with my own hands."

"Yuya..." Yuzu said and smiled as the two of them gazed at each other.

"Sakaki Yuya!" a shout sounded, breaking into the moment, and Yuya yelped as he found himself tackled to the ground with Mieru pinning him down. "My divination wasn't wrong! You __are__ my soulmate!"

"S...Soulmate?" Yuzu's eyes flared and everyone scooted away from her when a fiery aura of anger morphed around her and her harisen appeared in her hand. "What. Is. Happening?"

"I don't understand myself," Yuya said, warily eyeing the paper fan.

"There's no need for you to be shy, Darling!" Mieru said with a grin.

"Yuya..." Yuzu growled menacingly, her grip on the harisen tightening.

"This isn't what it looks like!" Yuya cried, struggling to break free from Mieru's grip.

"Who. Is. She. To. You?" Yuzu enunciated every word while Kazuki was clearly trying not to burst out laughing but she could see his shoulders trembling from his suppressed laughs.

"Darling and I are bound together by fate!" Mieru exclaimed.

"That's not it!" Yuya cried and, managing to break free from Mieru's grip, scrambled to his feet and attempted to bolt, only for Mieru to attach herself to his legs, preventing him from moving very fast.  
Kazuki lost it and burst out laughing so hard that he fell to the ground. "This. Is. Gold! Please tell me someone is recording this!" he exclaimed around his laughs.

"It's not funny!" Yuya shouted while struggling to remove Mieru and get away from Yuzu, who was trying to smack Yuya upside the head with her paper fan all the while Mieru was asking questions.

"When can I meet your mother and father? How many children do you want?" Mieru went on and on, oblivious to Yuya's desperate attempt to stay ahead of Yuzu and escape Mieru's iron-clad grip as well as Yuzu's rising anger. Meanwhile, Kazuki continued to laugh at his brother's predicament in the background.

 **. . .**

Unno Naruko, the Principal of Unno Divination School, smiled at the commotion that was going on in the arena below her. She couldn't help but feel very amused, not only by what was going on in the arena but also by Sakaki Yuya's ability to change his own destiny. It was rare that she had come across someone who could do such a thing.

"I am quite curious of what fate has in store for you, Sakaki Yuya," she mused and glanced at the crystal ball that she held in her hands. The crystal ball darkened considerably and Naruko gasped, her eyes widening in surprise as she felt the malevolence within the darkness that filled the crystal ball. A deep, dark malevolence that was so strong that it caused a crack to appear in the crystal ball's surface and it shattered into two pieces, but not before Naruko caught a glimpse of bright benevolence that was small and nearly overshadowed by the darkness.

"This..." Naruko trailed off and gazed at Sakaki Yuya. He was nursing his head from where he'd been smacked by a paper fan and still attempting to get Mieru to let go of him. The white-haired boy was still howling with laughter in spite of Yuya screaming at him that what was happening was not funny.

She pressed her lips together as she gazed at the shattered ball and then back at Sakaki Yuya. "Such malevolence...Sakaki Yuya, your fate is shrouded in darkness. I wonder if you will be able to change that destiny and find the light that lays within it," she said.

Almost self-consciously, she turned her gaze to the pink-haired girl who had smacked Yuya upside the head with a paper fan and the white-haired boy who was starting to overcome his bout of laughter. She rested a hand on both halves of the crystal ball and turned her attention from the girl and boy to gaze at the two halves, seeing the sliver of bright benevolence in both halves as if it was trying to tell her that, though the malevolence was strong enough to make it difficult to see what the future had in store, light still existed.

She saw the light, the benevolence, and knew that it had only started to appear in her prediction of what was to come when she looked at the girl and the boy.

Even though she knew that the boy who could change his own destiny was heading toward a dark future that she could not see the outcome of, she also knew that the light that would help him was far closer to him than anyone would think.

"Sakaki Yuya," Naruko said quietly, "your path is a dark, treacherous one. Hold on to the lights that remain close to you because, in the dark future that is to come for you, those guiding lights will be exactly what you will need to navigate it and change your own fate."

 **. . .**

Kazuki made his way down the sidewalk, watching Yuya and Sora bicker while the older boy held the younger one in a headlock. A few hours had gone by since Yuya's duel against Mieru and Sora's final qualifying duel and Sora had mentioned that if Yuya loses then they won't get a party, which led to Sora's current predicament.

He thought about the duel earlier. The hilarious end to that duel aside—Yuya had pouted for a good hour not only about what happened but also at Kazuki's reaction to the entire situation—Kazuki had to think about that duel. Even though he'd only caught the tail-end of the duel, he had been amazed but proud when Yuya successfully pulled off a Fusion Summon with the ease of someone who has Fusion Summoned before.

It was a pretty amazing move.

Thinking about that Fusion Summon also brought to mind what happened at the harbor, when that boy who had the same face as Yuya had picked up the Fusion card, looked at Kazuki and Yuzu straight in the eye, and told them that the card didn't suit them.

It was as if he was saying that Fusion Summoning didn't suit them.

But Kazuki didn't understand what he meant by that. He glanced toward Yuzu, the only other person to hear that boy's words, and saw her standing off to the side, looking at a card in her hand. Moving away from Sora, he came to Yuzu's side and glanced at the card, the Fusion card that Sora had given her.

"What did he mean by that?" Yuzu whispered.

"You're thinking of what I'm thinking," Kazuki whispered. "What that kid who looks like Yuya said at the harbor, right?"

"I can't help but think about it," Yuzu said and lifted her head before frowning. "Masumi?"

Kazuki turned to where Yuzu was looking to find the black-haired form of Kotsa Masumi darting down an alley. He turned to Yuzu only to find that she was already darting in the direction Masumi had gone.

"Yuzu, where are you going?" Tatsuya protested.

"I just remembered something I have to do," Yuzu called over her shoulder.

"Are you getting the cake?" Sora asked, still caught up in the headlock.

"Just go home without me," Yuzu shouted and disappeared down an alley.

Kazuki darted after her.

"Wait, Kazuki, where are you going?" Tatsuya called.

"I'll see you guys later," Kazuki said and rounded the corner, disappearing into the darkness of the alley and quickly catching up with Yuzu.

Yuzu glanced at him. "What're you doing?"

"Why are you going after Masumi, Yuzu?" Kazuki said, not answering Yuzu's question as he fell into step beside her.

Yuzu pressed her lips together. "Something's up," she said. "I don't know why Masumi came here but...she has been very vocal about her desire to confront that duelist who attacked her teachers and..."

"You think she's trying to find him again," Kazuki deduced.

"Yeah. They're dangerous, Kazuki, and I don't know if Masumi realizes the kind of danger she's in. I… At the very least, she should have some backup, just in case she does run into him or his companions," Yuzu said.

Kazuki nodded in agreement. Yuzu was a kindhearted person and he wasn't surprised that she was trying hard to help someone in spite of barely knowing her. "I'll help," he said. "I may not know Masumi well but still."

Yuzu nodded and started running again with Kazuki easily keeping up with her. "I don't mind. I don't know if I'd stand a chance against that guy anyway but… even if I do run into him again, maybe I can also figure out why he called me Ruri," she said. "Either way, we can both help."

"Sorry, but I can't let you do that." At the sound of Kenshin's familiar voice, Kazuki and Yuzu skidded to a halt as the masked young man jumped off the dumpster he'd been crouched on to land in front of the two of them.

"Kenshin?" Kazuki said in puzzlement. "What're you doing here?"

"Just how does he know your name?" An exasperated voice said as the dark-clad purple-and-black-haired boy whom Kazuki knew had the same face as Yuya stepped out of a side alley to stand next to Kenshin in front of Kazuki and Yuzu. The boy was Yuto, if Kazuki remembered what his taller companion had said at the harbor that day.

"If I told you, I'd get another lecture about laying low and not drawing attention to myself," Kenshin said as he removed his mask and goggles and lowered the hood of his cloak.

The other boy gave Kenshin an exasperated look. "We'll talk later," he said finally and, removing his goggles and mask, turned to face Yuzu and Kazuki. "We can't let you go any further."

"You're...You stopped your companion last time. He's going to attack Masumi, isn't he?" Yuzu said. "Please, you've gotta stop him like you did last time!"

Yuto didn't respond.

"You've gotta stop him," Yuzu pleaded but, still, Yuto refused to move.

"What about you, Kenshin? Why won't you try to stop him?" Kazuki said, glancing at his lookalike.

Kenshin shrugged. "Trying to stop Shun is like trying stop a tornado."

"But you stopped him before. Why are you so unwilling to do so now?" Yuzu demanded, frowning at Yuto.

"You don't need to know," Yuto said finally. "I don't want to involve you, either of you."

Kazuki and Yuzu frowned and looked at each other. It was clear that these two were not going to help them stop the taller boy from hurting someone else. They darted forward, trying to force their way past Kenshin and Yuto. Yuto grabbed Yuzu's arm before she could get far while Kenshin tripped Kazuki, sending him sprawling to the ground before pinning him to the ground.

"Get off," Kazuki demanded.

"No. Sorry but we don't want you guys to intervene. Neither of us want either of you to get hurt," Kenshin said.

"You told me something similar when you dueled Sawatari," Yuzu said with a scowl at Yuto. "Why did you say that then, and Kenshin is saying that now, when you're both willing to go around and hurt others?"

Yuto flinched and looked away.

Kenshin scowled. "That's not..." he began but stopped when Yuto waved his free hand at him as if to tell him to be quiet. Huffing, Kenshin fell silent but remained on top of Kazuki who had given up on trying to get free from his lookalike. Even though they looked alike, Kenshin had a lot more muscle on him.

Yanking her arm out of Yuto's grip and stepping back, Yuzu glared at him. "So it's all right if Masumi gets hurt?" she demanded.

"That's wrong," Kazuki said and twisted his head to gaze at Kenshin and Yuto. "Who are you two anyway? And I don't mean your names, I mean who are you really and what do you want?"

"Why are you here? Why are you attacking others?" Yuzu added.

Yuto was silent for a long moment, as if debating whether to tell them or not. Finally, he turned to Kenshin. "You can get off him now, Kenshin. I don't think he's going to bolt," he said.

Kenshin shrugged. "Okay," he relented and got up while Kazuki pushed himself to his feet, rubbing his back.

Yuto turned his gaze to both Kazuki and Yuzu. "We're after our comrades who have been captured by our enemy," he said.

"Enemy?" Kazuki repeated.

"Wait, do you mean Ruri?" Yuzu gasped.

Kazuki pressed his lips together, watching shock flare in Yuto's gray eyes.

"Your companion said that name that day at the harbor," Kazuki put in. "Is this Ruri girl one of your captured comrades?"

"And does she look like me? Is that why your companion called me that name?" Yuzu asked.

"I initially thought the same, so did Kenshin," Yuto said. "But both of us realized quickly that you weren't Ruri. Not only did we realize that, while you have the same face as Ruri, you don't look identical to her, but we also know that Ruri would never use the enemy's summoning method."

"The enemy's summoning method? You don't mean..." Kazuki began.

"Fusion?" Yuzu gasped. "Fusion Summoning is your enemy?"

"Yes," Yuto said.

"So do you see us as your enemy because we use Fusion Summoning?" Kazuki asked, narrowing his eyes. "I only taught myself how to Fusion Summon to get stronger, to become a duelist that my dad can be proud of, and because if I'm stronger, then I can keep my brother, and everyone else I care about, safe."

Yuzu smiled at Kazuki and nodded in determination. "My reason is basically the same. I learned how to Fusion Summon so that I can protect my school and my friends," she said firmly.

"I see." Yuto glanced between Yuzu and Kazuki and closed his eyes. "So you learned that method for a similar reason to why we are fighting. Kenshin, Shun, and I are also fighting to protect our comrades in order to end the conflict and create a world where no one has to be hurt ever again."

"In answer to your question, I don't see you as an enemy just because you use Fusion Summoning," Kenshin said seriously. "Your reason for choosing that method are your own but it's not wrong to want to keep those you care about safe. It's not even wrong to want to become a duelist your father can be proud of."

"Neither of us want to involve you two in our conflict," Yuto added. "But if you two have no choice but to fight, I want you to survive, even if it means using Fusion Summoning."

"So do I," Kenshin said with a nod.

"You gave me that card..." Kazuki began.

"I did," Kenshin said and smiled. "And if you want to use the same summoning method we use, don't let anything stop you. Just because you use Fusion Summoning doesn't mean you can't use another summoning method."

"You're trying to protect your friends and grow stronger," Yuto said to Yuzu and, turning his gray gaze to Kazuki, added, "And you're trying to do the same but also make your father proud of you. Like Kenshin said, that isn't wrong." He gave them a smile and Kazuki was struck by how much Yuto looked like his brother with that smile.

"I will continue to fight myself," Yuto said, "along with Ruri, Kenshin, Shun, and the rest of my comrades in order to save our future."

A strong wind blew down the alley, brushing Kazuki's blue bangs into his face and causing Yuto and Kenshin's cloaks to whip around them.

"You know you're a lot like Ruri," Yuto added.

"Certainly has the same kind heart," Kenshin said with a smile.

"Who is Ruri?" Yuzu asked.

"She is one of our comrades, and Shun's younger sister," Yuto said.

"I see." Yuzu was silent for a long moment before adding, "What's your name?"

"Yuto," Yuto said calmly and turned around. "Let's go, Kenshin."

"Right," Kenshin said and the two of them were swallowed by the darkness as a strong wind forced Yuzu and Kazuki to shield their eyes.  
Once the wind died down, the alley was empty save for the two You Show students who were standing side by side.

"Yuto..." Yuzu whispered before she shook her head and turned to Kazuki. "Masumi might still need our help."

"They tried to stop us but they left so...did they change their mind?" Kazuki said as he and Yuzu began jogging down the alley.

"I don't know but, right now, we should try to help Masumi," said Yuzu.

"Right."

Unfortunately, when Yuzu and Kazuki arrived in the street, there was no one there, only the crows cawing on the top of the buildings and the wind howling around them.

"There's no one here," Yuzu said, gazing around.

"Did we miss her or just not go far enough?" Kazuki wondered.

"I don't… I don't see her anywhere." Yuzu fell silent and then said quietly, "I think we missed them."

"I'm sure they're all right, Yuzu," Kazuki said and found himself hoping that he was right.  
His duel disk rang at the moment and he answered the call. "Hello?"

"Kazuki, where are you?" His mom's voice sounded on the other end.

"Sorry, Mom. I'm heading home now," Kazuki said and, glancing at Yuzu who was still pensively looking around, added, "After I walk Yuzu home."

"All right. When you get here, we've gotta talk about Yuya's final match tomorrow, okay?"

"Sure." After saying goodbye, Kazuki hung up and turned to Yuzu, adding, "We're not going to find anything else today, Yuzu. We should get going before your dad gets worried."

"All right," Yuzu said quietly and the two of them began heading down the street and towards Yuzu's home.

 **. . .**

 **Next Time: Opening Ceremony! Gather the Challengers**

 **. . .**


	7. Opening Ceremony! Gather the Challengers

****(Pokes head out of bomb- and weapon-proof shelter) erm, hi (gulps at the various weapons pointed at her) Sorry! Sorry! I know I said I'd update the Sunday I got back from my vacation but, well, I was exhausted that entire day.****

 ** **And then I just kinda procrastinated. I've gotta stop doing that.****

 ** **But here it is! The next chapter! And, this time, I will post Turn 8 on Wednesday.****

 **…**

 ** **None of you believe me, do you? (Sigh) Well, I don't have the greatest track record of keeping my deadlines so I guess I'll just say that I'll try my hardest to keep this deadline and post Turn 8 on Wednesday.****

 ** **Anyway, thank you to** ** _decode9,_** ** _MagicalPrincess07, J Alvarez/Xo Lucas/Nav, Queen of Peaceful Nights,_** **and** ** _talesfanjmf_** **for reviewing the last chapter. You guys are awesome! And so patient!****

 ** **Also, thank you to EndlessNight025 for being an awesome beta-reader/co-author as well.****

 ** **I hope that you enjoy this chapter, in spite of the lack of duels, and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.****

 ** **Turn 7****

 ** **Opening Ceremony! Gather the Challengers****

Yuya stretched his arms above his head as he gazed at the rays of sunlight that were drifting through his window to illuminate his room. It was early morning and today was the day that Yuya's final qualifying match was to take place. He reached over and picked up his deck, smiling to himself. "I only have one more duel to win," he said quietly as he thought about his conversation with Nico the day before. "But, no matter what or who I go against, I will enjoy myself and make it through with my Entertainment dueling."

He tucked his deck away and left his room, deciding to start off his day with at least thirty pancakes. Nothing like a good hearty breakfast before a big duel.

He slid down the pole and stepped into the lounge, looking around and frowning when he didn't see his mom, En, Core, or the rest of his pets, or even his brother. "Where is everyone?" he wondered but decided to grab something quick for breakfast and head over to You Show.

Upon reaching You Show, he ate his breakfast in the elevator, a bit annoyed that his mother hadn't made him breakfast on such an important day and even his brother hadn't wished him luck like he always did. He sighed as he swallowed his food and stepped out of the elevator into the main lounge of You Show but his annoyance was replaced by puzzlement when he saw that the lounge was empty.

Yuzu and the principal weren't there and neither were Ayu, Futoshi, and Tatsuya.

"Just where did they go?" Yuya wondered aloud.

"Where indeed?" At the sound of Nico's voice, Yuya jumped with a yelp and whirled around to find Nico standing right behind him. Nico gave Yuya a slight bow in greeting and added, "Does this bother you?"

"Frankly, yes, it does."

Nico didn't respond to that as he rested a hand on Yuya's shoulder. "C'mon, let's go or you're going to be late to your final match," he said as he basically dragged Yuya into the elevator.

"Where is everyone?" Yuya insisted.

Nico gave him an innocent smile.

Yuya didn't believe it for a second.

The walk to the location of the final duel took about fifteen minutes and, before long, Yuya and Nico were making their way up the stairs that led to the Gongenzaka Dojo. Trees lined the stairway and sunlight beat down on the two as they walked.

"So who is my fourth opponent anyway?" Yuya asked. He had pretty much gone against almost everyone at the Gongenzaka Dojo but there were some that he hadn't gone against yet. __Could it be one of them?__ he thought. _ _Or is it…? Could it be…?__

"Don't tell me it's who I think it is," Yuya said with a small frown as they neared the entrance to the dojo.

"Go ahead and confirm for yourself," Nico said and led the way onto the dojo's grounds.

Standing at the top of the stairs leading into the dojo was Gongenzaka. "I was getting tired of waiting for you, Yuya."

Yuya's frown deepened and he turned to Nico. "Why would you go out of your way to make me fight against Gongenzaka? We've fought tons of times before."

"Yes you have," Nico agreed. "However, you haven't had a serious match yet. I know he's your best friend and protected you from the cruel public after your father's disappearance. That moved me very much." Tears appeared in Nico's eyes and he wiped them way as he added, "But even though you're best friends, a real match is another matter entirely."

"I agree," Gongenzaka said. "Even though we have fought countless times before, those were not serious matches. While I do not fault you for how you felt after Sakaki Yushou's disappearance, feeling pity for you only served to weaken me. While I was defending You Show, I was unable to break the tie because of the weakness in my own heart and my inability to break away from my own softness. I had to push myself further if I want to purge myself of such weakness."

"Gongenzaka even went as far as to bet his entrance into the Maiami Championship," Nico added. "He won enough matches that he is only one away from the required sixty percent win rate and then refused any more challenges until you were in the same position."

Yuya's eyes widened as he realized what that meant. Whoever won the duel between him and Gongenzaka was guaranteed their spot in the Maiami Championship. "Why would you go that far?"

"I didn't think I would be able to get a serious match from you if I didn't go this far," Gongenzaka replied. "Eventually, I will inherit this dojo and this duel will also be a test of my Steadfast Dueling and I will put aside my weakness and fight with everything I've got because you're my best friend. Prepare yourself, Yuya."

Yuya bit his lip but followed Nico as he made his way up the stairs and entered the dojo behind Gongenzaka. They walked down the corridor and entered the main room where Gongenzaka's father was seated and the other disciples were seated around the arena.

"Have you not yet steeled yourself?" Nico asked. "It's understandable given the circumstances and how you have to cut down the man who's supported you through all these years or you won't be able to enter the tournament."

"Where is everyone?" Yuya asked again.

"You will have to learn to stand alone, Yuya-kun," Nico said. "Up until now, you've been protected and supported by Gongenzaka, your brother, and your friends at You Show. You have always been cheered on by others and that has given you strength. However, being a pro means that you must display your own skills even when you are the away team and everyone is cheering for the enemy. That's why I had your cheer crew take a leave of absence today."

Yuya hesitated but he nodded. He knew that Nico was right. Not everyone was going to support him. Not everyone was going to cheer for him when he went on to be a pro, and he wanted to be a pro. _So I have to steel myself. I don't like fighting against Gongenzaka with such a condition but, at the same time, I will do it to take that next step and become a pro_ , he thought with determination as he turned to face Gongenzaka who faced him and the duel between the two best friends began their duel as the Action Field Sword's Cemetery activated.

Yuya knew of just how important this match was but he still found it hard to face off against his best friend who was the reason why he had come as far as he has. It had been because of Gongenzaka that Yuya got the majority of his fifty duels.

"Pitying your opponent is the same as disrespecting them," Gongenzaka said as he finished his first move, interrupting Yuya's thoughts. "It is because you are my best friend that I will defeat you with all of my strength. I suggest you throw away those meaningless feelings and face me with all of your might."

The duel went on and, during his second turn, Gongenzaka did what no one was expecting.

"Watch, Father. This is the new Steadfast Dueling that I aspire to create," Gongenzaka declared as he summoned a Tuner monster known as Superheavy Samurai Horaga-E.. "I tune my Level 8 Big Benkei with my Level 2 Superheavy Samurai Horaga-E! _Raging deity, in unison with the roar of a thousand blades, appear now in a spiraling sandstorm! Synchro Summon! Now come before us! Level 10! Superheavy_ _Koujin_ _Susano-O!_ "

A giant machine monster appeared on the field from the tuned monsters, sitting cross-legged in the air in Defense Position and slamming its halberd into the ground. It had 2400 Attack and 3800 Defense.

"I'm coming Yuya," Gongenzaka declared. "The serious match has finally started. Prepare yourself!"

"Stop!" Gongenzaka's father suddenly declared, standing up. "My son, Gongenzaka Noboru, has lost this match."

"W...What?" Yuya said, breaking out of his shock only to be surprised a second time.

Gongenzaka's father went on to explain what Steadfast Dueling meant and declared that the instant Gongenzaka stole techniques from another school, he lost the match.

Only for everyone to learn that Gongenzaka didn't steal the techniques but rather requested instruction. Yuya quickly figured out that Gongenzaka must have meant Yaiba Todo and pressed his lips together, knowing that this duel was about to get harder to win.

And he was right, once the duel continued, Yuya found himself being pushed back by Gongenzaka's assault and was quickly brought down to only 450 Life Points within only a few turns.

But Yuya wasn't going to give up yet and when he drew Entermate Trump Witch through the effect of Lizardraw, he knew what he had to do. He could feel his dragon wanted him to call him out and, now, he had the power to do just that even though he no longer had that Fusion card in his deck.

"I set Entermate Trump Witch in my Pendulum Zone," he said once he continued his turn.

"Even if you reset the Pendulum Scale, you can only Pendulum Summon once per turn," Gongenzaka reminded him.

"I activate Trump Witch's Pendulum Effect," Yuya declared. "Once per turn, I can use monsters on my field to perform a Fusion Summon!"

"Fusion Summon?" Gongenzaka exclaimed.

Yuya pointed to the two monsters on his field–Stargazer Magician and Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon–and Fusion Summoned Rune-Eyes Pendulum Dragon. He managed to lower Gongenzaka's Life Points to 2200 but Gongenzaka prevented him from doing anymore damage.

Yuya clucked his tongue because he knew that he had to win during this turn and he glanced at the card he'd set in a previous turn. He knew that he would have to bet everything on that card. But, first, he needed a card to discard to activate its' effect.

He used Rune-Eyes to ride across the field and, in a stunt that would have probably resulted in him getting scolded by his brother if his brother ever saw it, he had Rune-Eyes jump over the canyon that separated him from the Action Card, and then leapt off Rune-Eyes while the dragon was still in midair.

He managed to grab the card and land safely, relieved that he'd managed to do that.

 **. . .**

"Way to give me a freaking heart attack, Yuya!" Kazuki shouted, even though he knew that his brother was too focused on the duel to hear him.

He huffed and added in a mutter, "I'm smacking him upside the head when this duel's over for that little stunt of his."

Yuzu just gave him an amused look but said nothing.

 **. . .**

"I send the Action Magic Oversword to my Cemetery to activate my Trap Card, Damage Draw!" Yuya declared as he got to his feet. "Now I can draw one card but if it's a monster then I'll take damage equal to its Attack."

He took a deep breath because he knew that he was betting everything on this one draw. I believe in myself and in my cards, he thought as the pendulum around his neck swayed and he drew, the image of a new dragon appeared in his mind's eye as he glanced at the card he drew.

A Magic Card known as Big Return.

He grinned and immediately inserted the card. "I activate the card I just drew, Big Return! With this, I can reuse a 'once per turn' effect on my field. I'll reuse Trump Witch's Pendulum Effect!"

"You're Fusion Summoning again?" Gongenzaka gasped.

"I fuse Entermate Silver Claw and Rune-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!" Yuya declared. "Prideful silver wolf, become one with the arcane dragon and give birth to a new power! Fusion Summon! Come forth, ferocious dragon with luminous feral eyes! Beast-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"

With a roar, a dragon that was clad in silver fur with glowing dichromatic eyes appeared on the field with 3000 Attack.

"Let's go, Beast-Eyes!" Yuya declared as he jumped onto Beast-Eyes's back and pointed to Gongenzaka's Synchro Monster, which was currently in Attack Position and had only 2400 Attack. "Attack Susano-O! Hell Dive Burst!"

With a roar, Beast-Eyes unleashed a powerful blast of energy that crashed into Susano-O and destroyed it, reducing Gongenzaka's Life Points to 1600.

"And now I activate Beast-Eyes's effect!" Yuya declared. "When it destroys a monster by battle, it can inflict damage to you equal to the Attack of its Beast-type Fusion Material!" He knew he had this match won; Silver Claw had 1800 Attack, which was more than enough to knock out the last of Gongenzaka's Life Points.

Beast-Eyes unleashed a blast of energy that caused a shockwave to ripple across the field and crash into Gongenzaka, taking out the last of his Life Points.

As the Action Field faded away, Yuya took a deep breath and, once he heard three voices shout his name, he turned to find Ayu, Futoshi, and Tatsuya running toward him. He blinked in surprise. "You guys are here?" he said, confused.

"We were told not to watch so we watched in secret," Ayu explained.

"You have to be able to win when you're the away team too after all," Yoko said as she joined them.

Yuya nodded and then glanced around, noticing that Sora, Shuzo, Yuzu, and a very unhappy Kazuki were there as well. He winced. "Erm...you saw the entire duel?"

"Yup," Sora said.

Kazuki walked forward and promptly smacked Yuya hard upside the head.

"Ow!" Yuya whined.

"That's for nearly giving me a freaking heart attack with that stunt of yours," Kazuki huffed, lowering his hand, before adding, "But that was an amazing duel. Congratulations, Bro."

"That was definitely a hot-blooded duel! You were on fire!" Shuzo exclaimed.

"Even I got excited! I never thought you would use a Pendulum Effect to Fusion Summon," Sora said.

"Congratulations, Yuya," Yuzu praised with a smile.

Yuya gazed at them and smiled as he realized that, while he couldn't see them, they had all been watching over him.

 **. . .**

Yuto listened to the various announcements on the various television screens that lay scattered across the city. All of them were discussing the start of the Maiami Championship Tournament and Yuto pressed his lips together but kept on walking. He had more important things to worry about than watching a duel tournament; he couldn't find either Shun or Kenshin anywhere and he was beginning to worry about them.

After he and Kenshin had stopped Yuzu and Kazuki from intervening in Shun's match, they hadn't been able to find Shun at all. When they'd split up to search for Shun, promising to meet up at the hideout at nine that night, Yuto still hadn't been able to find any traces of where his best friend had gone.

And then Kenshin hadn't come back that night and Yuto hasn't been in contact with either of his best friends since then.

 _ _I hope they're alright,__ Yuto thought as he wandered down the street, scanning the area. No one was paying him any attention, most of them were too focused on getting to the LDS Center Court where the tournament was taking place.

Yuto wasn't just hoping that Shun and Kenshin were alright. He also hoped that none of them had gotten into any trouble, which was a big possibility considering Shun's actions since he arrived in that dimension and Kenshin being, well, Kenshin. He really didn't want to hear that something had happened to them, and learning that they had gotten arrested was the least of Yuto's worries when it came to the fact that there could be Academia spies in this dimension.

That cyan-haired boy came into Yuto's mind and he frowned to himself. He hadn't been able to keep an eye on that boy in recent days, mostly because he'd been too focused on finding his two best friends. He still didn't trust Sora further than he could throw him but his comrades came first in his mind.

Even if Shun could take care of himself, and even if Kenshin hadn't exactly gotten into too much trouble since they arrived in that dimension, that didn't lessen any of Yuto's worries.

He snorted to himself and turned his gray gaze to the sky. "I'm turning into a worrywart," he mused and shook his head, pushing those particular thoughts out of his head.

His duel disk rang at that moment and Yuto glanced at it, noticing that it was a brief message from Kenshin's duel disk. He slipped into the darkened alley he came to a stop beside and opened it.

" _Hey, Yuto. I just thought I'd let you know that Shun and I are fine. I'm with him now. I'll meet you at the hideout in an hour. Sorry I haven't contacted you in the past few days. Things got a bit...hectic when I ran into Shun a few days ago. I'll explain everything when we meet up,_ " the message said before it ended and Yuto closed and deleted the message, glad that his friend was all right but wondering what he meant by things have been hectic since he ran into Shun.

 _ _Does this mean that he found Shun but something happened?__ he thought but knew that he wouldn't find out anything until he and Kenshin met up with each other.

He stepped back onto the street and started heading down the sidewalk, listening to the announcer talk about the various duel schools that were going to be participating in the Maiami Championship Tournament, including several that were from out of the country.

It kind of reminded him of Heartland, except that there weren't as many duel schools in Heartland. Even so, the tournaments that Yuto remembered attending when he was a bit younger had been enjoyable; they were always entertaining and Yuto could still remember how happy and excited he was watching the various duels that were taking place.

He didn't know if things would ever be able to go back to the way it used to be and, while he wished that it would, he knew that the scars on the hearts of himself and his comrades would prevent things from going back to the way that they used to be.

 _ _Even so, I would love it if the people of Heartland could smile again and not live in fear,__ Yuto thought.

He wanted Heartland to be able to smile again and the war to end and everyone to be reunited with their loved ones, for Ruri to be rescued safe and sound, for no more people to be hurt. Academia had been hurting so many people and the Resistance had been forced to do the same in order to survive; it had been survival in the fittest in Heartland. One had to do whatever they must in order to survive the assault by Academia's duel soldiers, even if it meant hurting the enemy.

And Yuto didn't want that.

No matter his rage toward Academia, no matter how much he hated Academia, he didn't want to stoop to their level.

More than anything, he didn't want to hurt anyone.

He just wanted Heartland to become peaceful again. He wanted Heartland to, once again, be like Maiami City currently was. Maiami City was untouched by the horrors of war and filled with citizens who could still smile and enjoy duels and where duels were not used as tools for conflict but rather for the audience's enjoyment.

It was wishful thinking at the moment. Heartland could never be that way again so long as Academia existed, so long as duelists who take pride in turning other duelists and innocents into cards were still around. It didn't matter why they were doing it; how they went about fulfilling whatever goal they were trying to fulfill was terrible.

The ends never justify the means.

Yuto wished that Academia could understand that, could understand that the lives they've wrecked, the homes they've destroyed, the families they've torn apart, were not worth whatever their goal was.

He pushed those somber thoughts out of his mind as he paused for a moment to watch the announcer recap the Maiami Championship from the previous year before he started walking again.

He made his way to the outskirts of the city, deciding that he would head to the hideout for now and wait for Kenshin. He didn't have anything else to do at the moment; he knew that Kenshin and Shun were alright and he had no idea of where that Sora kid was and the last thing he wanted was to wander around the city with nothing to do, other than think.

And the last thing Yuto wanted was to think about everything that had happened to him and his comrades. It brought back way too many dark memories that Yuto would rather not relive; it was bad enough he relived those moments every time he went to sleep, he didn't need to relive them while he was wide awake as well.

 **. . .**

"You didn't get a response?"

At Shun's query, Kenshin looked up from his duel disk to find the Raid Raptors user watching him with his arms folded across his chest. "No, but I've no doubt he's gonna head back to the hideout," he said, pushing away from the wall he'd been leaning against and adding, "I don't get why you didn't just contact him yourself. It's not like he's mad at you. He thinks you're still upset with him, you know."

"I'm not." Shun turned his yellow-green gaze to the wall of the room he'd been given by Akaba Reiji after confronting him a few days earlier. Kenshin only knew about that because he ran into Shun not long after Shun finished speaking with Reiji, who set up a deal with him.

"You're going to participate in the Maiami Championship Tournament?" Kenshin asked in puzzlement as he pushed away from the wall that he'd been leaning against.

Shun, who was leaning against the wall across from Kenshin, inclined his head once. "Akaba Reiji stated that if I won the tournament then I could have my duel against him and if I win then I can use him as the hostage as I had originally planned," he explained.

"You sure you can trust him?"

"I don't trust him."

"Then why…?"

"Because this may be my one chance to get what I want. And because he said that Akaba Leo is also his enemy. I do not know if what he says is true but, nevertheless, it is another option. I would have thought you wouldn't mind this option given that it is a better option to what I was doing previously."

"I don't deny that," Kenshin said. "And I'm sure Yuto will prefer this option but...how can you be sure that he isn't just using you?"

"I can't," Shun admitted. "I trust him about as far as I can throw him but, at the same time, I have nothing to lose by agreeing to his condition and possibly everything to gain."

"Maybe..." Kenshin trailed off and then sighed. "Well, it's not like I can stop ya anyway. Just be careful, Shun."

"I am always careful."

Kenshin still wasn't sure what he felt about this idea, about Shun entering into an agreement with Akaba Reiji, the same person that he spent the entire time they had been in that dimension trying to lure out to use as a hostage, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to talk Shun out of it. And, as Shun said, it was a better option to what he had been doing, carding anyone who worked or attended LDS.

"By the way," Shun said, raising an eyebrow, "how did you find me and how did you get in here without alerting security?"

"I just walked in and asked. Security's surprisingly really low now that the culprit behind the attacks is, technically speaking, captured," Kenshin said with a shrug. He wasn't sure why they'd let him get in, and even gave him Shun's room number, but he wasn't complaining.

Shun sweatdropped. "You are an idiot, as usual," he said, rubbing his temples. "Did you ever think that they let you in for a reason?"

"What reason could that be?"

Shun sighed. "You may not be quite as naive as you were when we first met but it's clear that you are still somewhat naive," he said. "I have no doubt that we're being watched right now. At least you haven't said anything incriminating."

"Is that why you haven't mentioned Y…?"

Shun moved forward and smacked a hand over Kenshin's mouth. "Don't mention any names," he hissed. "Akaba Reiji knows about me, and likely knows what you look like now and possibly what our comrade looks like, but he doesn't know either of your names. I am entering this tournament for a reason and I would rather not have my comrades get dragged into this as well."

"You think Akaba Reiji would do that?" Kenshin asked around the hand on his mouth.

"I don't know. I don't trust him, though," Shun said, removing the hand.

"I suppose. I'd better get going," Kenshin said. "The tournament's starting soon, isn't it?"

"Yes, it should be starting within the hour," Shun said and stepped back. "Stay out of trouble."

"You stay out of trouble," Kenshin said and left the hotel room. As expected, no one stopped him as he left the building.

 **. . .**

"Sir, the boy who looks like Sakaki Kazuki has just left LDS Tower," Nakajima said to the gray-haired form of Akaba Reiji.

Reiji hummed as he leaned back in his seat, watching through the security cameras outside of the tower as the boy who resembled Sakaki Kazuki so closely darted away from the building. He had allowed the boy to enter and allowed the boy to speak with Kurosaki Shun for the very reason of finding out more information about him.

Kurosaki's paranoia notwithstanding, Reiji had been able to determine some things from the boy's interaction with Kurosaki. He knew that there was one more of Kurosaki's comrades in the city. He knew that Kurosaki seemed a bit protective of his comrades. That was pretty much all that he'd been able to gather from that conversation he overheard.

Kurosaki was good at ensuring that no incriminating information was leaked. No names were spoken. No places were mentioned. Nothing that could help Reiji find Kurosaki's second comrade or even keep an eye on the first one.

He was smart but, since he was basically a war veteran, Reiji wasn't too surprised. And it was clear that he was not about to let anyone get to his two comrades.

Not that Reiji planned on doing that, in spite of Kurosaki's voiced fears. It was enough for now that he had Kurosaki willingly participating in the Maiami Championship Tournament, the tournament that would help to find the duelists strong enough to join the Lance Defense Soldiers.

"Should we have someone follow him, sir?" Nakajima asked.

"No," Reiji said, adjusting his glasses. "Leave him be. I am quite curious about him, I will admit, especially because he resembles the younger Sakaki twin so closely but, for now, we will leave him be. I have no doubt he will return at some point, he and his comrade."

"Do you think they will try to go after you?"

"No. They haven't yet, even though they have likely been here as long as Kurosaki has been," Reiji said. "For now, we will leave them be. Let us focus on the first round of the Maiami Championship Tournament."

"Yes sir."

Reiji stood up and made his way toward the lift and leaving the control room. As he walked out of the room, he heard a voice call his name and turned to find a small child with light purplish gray hair hidden by a hat and the hood of their aqua-colored jacket hurrying toward him. The child's blue eyes were fixed on Reiji as they came to a stop in front of the taller boy.

"Layra," Reiji greeted the small child. "Are you ready for the tournament?"

"Yes Big Brother," the child, Akaba Layra, said with a nod.

"Then let's go. Mother should be waiting for us and the participants should be arriving soon."

Layra nodded and fell into step mutely at Reiji's side as the taller boy led the way down the hallway and toward the elevator.

 **. . .**

Yuya watched the pendulum sway in front of his eyes with the stadium in which the tournament was going to take place and pressed his lips together. Today was the day. The tournament that he had spent the past week trying to qualify for was less than an hour away and Yuya found himself feeling incredibly nervous.

He wasn't surprised. The tournament was likely going to be the biggest challenge that he had ever faced, even bigger than going against Strong Ishijima. It was his chance to take the first steps necessary to become a pro duelist.

He smiled to himself as he watched the pendulum sway in front before turning his goggle-clad crimson gaze to the sky. __Dad, wherever you are, I hope that I prove myself as a great Entertainment duelist and bring smiles to everyone with my dueling just like you did__ _,_ he thought as he found himself thinking about his dad's words to him when he was young.

"Yuya?"

At the sound of his brother's voice, Yuya lowered his head and turned, that smile still on his lips, as he spotted his brother standing behind and off to the side of him. "I'm feeling a sense of deja vu."

"Yeah. Me too," Kazuki said as he walked over to stand by Yuya. "But the tournament's going to begin in about twenty minutes. We should head there if we don't wanna be late."

"I know." Yuya turned his gaze back to his pendant. "I can't believe it's finally here."

"Neither can I," Kazuki admitted, sitting on the railing next to Yuya, though facing the opposite way. "What's bothering you?"

"Nothing, mostly just nerves," Yuya admitted. "And I've been thinking about Dad's words, too."

Kazuki turned his gaze to the sky. "Yeah, I've been thinking about Dad as well. I...I really hope that I can make him proud of me in this duel, and you, too," he said, turning his gaze to Yuya who blinked at him, surprised. He knew his brother had been trying to be the duelist their dad could be proud of but Yuya hadn't thought that Kazuki wanted him to be proud of him, too.

"I'm already proud of you, Little Bro."

"Even so, I hope to make you prouder still," Kazuki said in determination.

Yuya smiled softly at his brother's determination and turned his gaze to the sky. "Hard to believe that time has flown by as quickly as it has."

"Tell me about it," Kazuki said, also turning his gaze to the sky. "It feels like just yesterday that you were attending your first qualifying match and Sora and I were starting to train Yuzu."

"Yeah. I'm looking forward to seeing how much Yuzu has grown as a duelist since you and Sora started teaching her." Yuya was also looking forward to seeing how much his brother had grown as a duelist; he knew that Kazuki had spent the last few weeks helping to teach Yuzu Fusion Summoning, and, in turn, learn more about that summoning method himself, so he had no doubt Kazuki had gotten stronger.

He said as much to his brother.

Kazuki kept his gaze on the sky. "I'm hoping all my studying pays off."

"I doubt you need to study Fusion Summoning anymore. You seem to have gotten it down."

Kazuki lowered his head and gave Yuya a small half-smile. "Oh, I'm not talking about that," he said and jumped off the railing.

"Then what are you talking about?" Yuya said, confused.

Kazuki just kept that small half-smile on his lips.

Yuya frowned and then sighed. "You're not going to tell me, are you?"

"I want to surprise you," Kazuki said simply and turned to gaze at the stadium again. "Are you ready?"

Yuya was silent for a long moment before he also turned his gaze back to the stadium. "I will be. Go ahead and head over there, Kazuki. I'll be right behind you."

For a long moment, Kazuki was silent as if debating whether to go on ahead or not. "All right," he said finally and Yuya watched his brother walk away out of the corner of his eyes.

He went back to gazing at the stadium, the water, and his pendulum before he noticed that someone else had come to his side.

"Your brother said you were still here," his mother's voice said and Yuya felt her hands reach up and gently remove the goggles from over his eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Yuya assured his mother. "Just thinking."

"That's what Kazuki said." Yoko turned her gaze to the pendulum that swayed in front of Yuya's eyes and, resting her hands on Yuya's shoulders, added, "Everyone's waiting for you, Yuya. I know you're nervous but I also know that you're courageous enough to take the step forward and follow on the path that you believe in."

Yuya smiled and nodded in agreement before he turned his head as he recalled what his brother had said earlier. "Do you happen to know what Kazuki's surprise is?" he asked curiously.

"No but, even if I did, I wouldn't say. Why ruin your brother's surprise?" Yoko said with a smile.

Yuya chuckled. "I guess you're right," he said and, climbing off the railing, added, "I suppose I should get going. The opening ceremony starts in fifteen minutes and I don't want to be late." Waving a goodbye to his mother, knowing that she was probably only going to be a few minutes behind him, Yuya began jogging toward the stadium.

He arrived with about five minutes to spare and, after signing in and receiving a registration card, he looked around until he spotted his brother, Yuzu, Sora, and the kids all standing near one of the many posters that hung on the lobby's walls.

He jogged over to join them. "Hey, guys."

"There you are, Yuya! You were almost late," Yuzu scolded.

"Sorry," Yuya said while rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "I just needed some time to think."

"We were all worried about you, Big Bro Yuya, when you weren't in the car with everyone," Ayu said, concerned. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Ayu," Yuya assured the red-haired girl.

"Darling!" A shout sounded and Yuya turned as the small orange-haired girl sprinted toward him. She skidded to a halt in front of him and pointed at him. "You're late! You shouldn't keep your lady waiting, Darling."

"What?" Yuya asked, lost.

"Yuya..." Yuzu growled and Yuya gulped when he saw the fiery aura that surrounded the pink-haired girl and the dark expression on her face and that dreaded paper fan that she held tightly in her hands.

Yuya held up his hands defensively. "I didn't say anything!" he protested.

"I don't see why you're still so shy about it, Darling," Mieru said. "We are soulmates, after all."

Yuya wanted to protest but he also didn't want to hurt Mieru's feelings. He was too kind to do something like that, even if, at the same time, he really didn't want to be on the receiving end of Yuzu's paper fan again.

Kazuki trying, and failing, to hide his snickers wasn't helping.

Yuya gave his brother an irritated look. "It's. Not. Funny."

"Yes. It. Is," Kazuki replied.

Thankfully, he was saved from having to respond to either Mieru's words or Yuzu's anger when a voice over the intercom told everyone to gather because the opening ceremony was about to begin. Mieru, after giving Yuya a beaming smile, jogged over to join her classmates, and Yuzu relaxed as her paper fan went back to wherever it came from. Yuya honestly didn't know where Yuzu kept that thing but he wasn't about to ask.

"Looks like this is it," he said as he gazed at his brother, his best friend, his other friend, and the three kids.

"Let's show everyone who's boss," Futoshi said.

"Yeah. We're all representing You Show so we've gotta show everyone how great You Show is," Ayu said.

"Let's do this," Tatsuya said.

"Right," Yuzu agreed.

"Let's go kick some butt," Sora said with a grin.

"Let's go," Kazuki said.

"Let's," Yuya agreed and the seven of them made their way over to where the sign for their school was being held.

It wasn't long before the ceremony began and Yuya, Yuzu, Kazuki, Sora, Ayu, Futoshi, and Tatsuya made their way into the Center Court behind the girl carrying the sign for their school. Yuya waved at the crowd with a big smile as he, his brother, and his friends were introduced and listened to the cheers of the crowd.

"So many people..." Kazuki said, sounding a little nervous.

Yuya placed a hand on his brother's shoulder, knowing that Kazuki wasn't exactly used to performing in front of a large crowd. "You'll be fine," he assured his brother. "Just wave to the crowd and don't forget to smile!"

"R...Right," Kazuki said and took a deep breath before he waved at the crowd and gave them a small half-smile. It was probably the closest the crowd was going to get to an actual full smile but it was a start and Yuya grinned at his brother. He was glad that, in recent weeks, Kazuki has been smiling more often than before, even if it was only little half-smiles.

The duelists gathered in front of the stage on which Nico Smiley was standing. "Hello and welcome to the Opening Ceremony of the Maiami Championship Tournament!" Nico greeted everyone once they had gathered and, while he talked about the tournament, Yuya found himself looking around.

"What's he doing here?" At Kazuki's gasp of surprise, Yuya turned to find a tall slim figure dressed in a dark-blue trench coat with a red scarf wrapped around his neck. He had bluish-black hair with a light-green bang shaped like a wing tucked under the hair on the left side of his face. His yellow-green eyes were examining the rest of the duelists impassively.

"That's..." Yuzu gasped as well. "Shun, isn't it? That's his name?"

Kazuki nodded, frowning to himself.

Yuya studied the guy. __That guy...he's dressed like that guy I ran into in that alley, the one that masked kid told me was the attacker. Is he the same person? But then why is he here?__ he wondered but was brought out of his thoughts when Nico declared that someone was going to do the oath of fair play.

"And the person who shall do this year's Oath of Fair Play is our very own Pioneer of Pendulum Summoning: Sakaki Yuya," Nico declared.

"Wait...what?!" Yuya exclaimed in protest, all thoughts of the LDS attacker flying out of his mind for the moment at Nico's words. "Why do I…?" He yelped as he found himself picked up by two security men and basically dragged to the stage.

 **. . .**

Kazuki blinked. "Was my brother just manhandled to the stage?"

"I believe he was," Yuzu said with a sweatdrop.

Sora was biting his cheek to keep from snickering at the predicament Yuya found himself in.

 **. . .**

"Best make it good, Yuya-kun," Nico said, leaning closer to Yuya, who was pushing himself to his feet after he'd basically been thrown on the stage. He got to his feet and moved over to the microphone, a bit nervous because he had no idea what he was supposed to say. An oath of fair play, that was what Nico said it was; seemed simple enough.

"Erm, oath of pair flay!"

Everyone facefaulted.

Yuya went red, a bit dazed and unsure of just how he'd managed to screw that up.

"C'mon, Yuya! Pull yourself together!" Yuzu shouted from the crowd behind him. "Everyone is watching!"

"Everyone is…?" Yuya paused and his hand went to the pendulum that hung around his neck. _Right, everyone's watching. Dad...Dad would try to make them smile and I should too_ , he thought as he recalled his dad's words and he lifted his head, his earlier nervousness fading away and his eyes filled with determination as he took a deep breath.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," he declared as he stretched out his arms. "Pardon me for my earlier mistake. In order to turn that around, this is the oath of fair play...is what I'd like to start off with, but I would like you to listen to what I have to say instead." Yuya rested his hand over his heart as a bright smile crossed his lips. "My father is the duelist Sakaki Yushou. The best Entertainment Duelist in the world. But, as you all know, three years ago, before his Duel began, he went away somewhere. Everyone called me the child of the runaway Duelist, and I practiced Entertainment Dueling desperately, saying, 'I'll show them!' But, at some point I think I really ran away from actually Dueling. But after discovering Pendulum Summoning and fighting with really strong Duelists, I began to enjoy dueling more and more. I realized I want to like Dueling even more. And I want to be like Sakaki Yushou, someone who people will be proud to know, the best Pro Duelist! I want to be a Duelist who can make myself and everyone else enjoy Dueling even more!"

He fell silent and, for a moment, there was nothing but silence until clapping could be heard.

Yuya turned to the sound to find Reiji clapping and it wasn't long before everyone began clapping as well. Yuya turned around to see that the other duelists were clapping and smiling and he found himself smiling back a bit sheepishly.

"Excellent!" Nico said as he came to Yuya's side. "That was Sakaki Yuya's oath of fair play as well as his declaration of his determination."

Yuya gave a slight bow before he walked off the stage and rejoined his friends.

"That was a great speech," Yuzu said with a smile.

"Thanks." He had made it up pretty much on the spot but he had been speaking entirely from his heart and he was glad that his feelings had resonated with everyone else.

"Now then," Nico said. "We will now announce the first matches. All competitors, please put your registration card into your duel disk."

Yuya fished his out of his pocket and slipped it into his duel disk. "So, let's see. My opponent is...Sawatari?" he said in surprise.

"My opponent's Masumi?" Yuzu gasped.

"I'm going against Hokuto," Kazuki said with a small nervous frown. "And it's right before Yuzu's."

Yuya placed a hand on his brother's shoulder. "I'm sure you'll be just fine."

"Thanks. I'm a bit nervous but...I guess that's normal and all," Kazuki said. "When are your matches, Yuya, Yuzu?"

"Mine's tomorrow," Yuya said.

"Mine is today in the afternoon," Yuzu said.

"Mine is tomorrow. "At the sound of Gongenzaka's voice, Yuya, Yuzu, Kazuki, and Sora turned to find Gongenzaka sanding nearby with his duel disk in his hands. Yuya was glad to see him there, because that told him that Gongenzaka had gotten the necessary wins he needed before the deadline.

"Gongenzaka...who are you going against?" Yuya asked.

Gongenzaka showed them his duel disk, which showed an image of himself versus a burly young man with pink hair and thick dark eyebrows.

Yuya recognized him, as did Kazuki.

"Ankokuji Gen," Kazuki murmured.

Ankokuji was one of the bullies who picked on Yuya and Kazuki after their father's disappearance. Gongenzaka stood up for Yuya and Kazuki at that time but it still brought back some bad memories.

"It must be fate," Gongenzaka said and looked away.

"Mine's after this ceremony," Futoshi said.

"Mine's after that," Ayu said.

"All right. Then we'll cheer for Futoshi, Ayu, Kazuki, and Yuzu today," Yuya said with a smile.

"When's your duel, Sora?" Tatsuya asked.

"It's tomorrow," Sora said. "My opponent's from LDS."

"LDS? Who is it?"

Sora narrowed his eyes at the screen. "Kurosaki...Shun…"

"What?" Yuya, Yuzu, and Kazuki said in surprise.

Sora showed them his duel disk, which showed an image of that boy Kazuki had pointed out earlier. "It's him."

"That person is...Kurosaki Shun," Yuzu said softly.

"Hiiragi Yuzu, it seems you're my opponent." At the sound of Masumi's voice, Yuya, Yuzu, and Kazuki turned toward it to find the dark-skinned girl watching Yuzu with an impassive expression on her face.

"Masumi!" Yuzu stepped toward her. "Masumi, tell me! Why is Kurosaki Shun listed as an LDS member?"

"What are you talking about?" Masumi said with a frown. "He's been part of our group from the start."

"Huh?"

"From the start…?" Yuya said, puzzled.

"Yup, that's the truth," Hokuto said and smirked at Kazuki while adding, "And looks like we're gonna be facing off against each other. I've never seen you duel before but I heard from Hayashi that you're a Fusion user. It's going to be interesting to see how well you do against me."

Kazuki pressed his lips together but said nothing.

 **. . .**

Yuto turned his gaze to the door as it opened to reveal Kenshin. Kenshin looked out of breath as if he'd just run all the way over there and Yuto raised an eyebrow. "Did you run all the way over here, Kenshin?"

"Maybe a little," the fiery-haired boy answered as he walked over to his cot and sat down, catching the water bottle that Yuto threw at him before opening it and taking a long drink. "I wanted to get back here quickly but I also took the long way just in case LDS decided to send someone to follow me."

"Do you think they would?"

"Considering Shun did bring up a good point, about how something was obviously wrong with the fact that LDS's security just let me walk right in to speak with him, I decided to be cautious."

Normally, Kenshin was a bit more paranoid but it was clear that, out of the three of them, Kenshin was still the most naive. While the invasion had changed some of that, some of that naivete remained.

But Kenshin also mentioned LDS's security and that made Yuto frown in worry. "You were in LDS Tower?"

"Yeah. Like I said, I'd explain everything. Remember when we left Yuzu and Kazuki and tried to catch up with Shun, only for us to not catch up with him?"

"Yes. We split up to try to find him since we were sure he hadn't gone that far."

"He hadn't," Kenshin said. "I ran into him not long after we split up but he told me not to contact you, at least not right away, and he told me everything that happened." Kenshin spent the next few minutes explaining to Yuto about Shun's attack on those three LDS students as well as his discussion with Akaba Reiji and the deal that was made between them.

When he mentioned that Reiji saw Akaba Leo as his enemy, Yuto interrupted with, "He sees his own father as his enemy?"

"That's what Shun said he said but Shun's not sure if he believes him or not," Kenshin explained. "But he agreed to the condition. He participates in the Maiami Championship Tournament and, if he wins, then he can duel Reiji, and if he beats Reiji then he's free to do whatever he wants, use Reiji as a hostage if he wants or whatever."

Yuto pressed his lips together. "What's the catch?"

"I don't know and neither does he. He doesn't trust Reiji but...you've gotta admit this is better than what he's been doing."

"I will agree to that."

"We both knew you would."

Yuto frowned. "But still...why ask Shun to participate in this tournament? What could Reiji possibly gain by having Shun be part of this tournament? And why does he see his own father as his enemy? There are just far too many questions that I have right now."

"I know. I've been thinking about what Shun's said myself but I don't think we really have to worry too much about this. Shun's a strong duelist. I have no doubt he'll go far in this tournament and maybe even win it," Kenshin said.

"I suppose." Yuto turned his gaze to the window and added, "We don't have any other choice but to trust Shun. As for us, I think we should observe this tournament ourselves. I saw the introduction of the duelists and Sora was one of them. This may be our chance to find proof of whether he's in league with the enemy or not."

Kenshin nodded. "Sounds good to me." He paused and then added softly, somberly, "I haven't watched an actual duel tournament in such a long time and I can't even enjoy it that much this time but...well, I gotta do what I gotta do."

Yuto nodded. He would have liked to watch the tournament without having to worry about anything and just enjoy the various duels that would take place but he knew that he couldn't. He just didn't have the luxury of enjoying a dueling tournament when the enemy could be hiding in the city. His thoughts went to Sora and then went to the boy that Kenshin explained looked like him whom he had run into not long after Shun attacked those three LDS members.

"Kenshin?"

"Yeah?"

"We never did get the chance to talk about your encounter with that boy who looks like me," Yuto said, leaning back in his seat. "What happened?"

"Not much," Kenshin admitted. "I came across Shun not long after he took out those three LDS members and I saw the kid knocked out so, like I said, I went to check up on him. He was panicky, no surprise there considering what he'd just seen, but I tried to reassure him that I wasn't gonna hurt him. Of course, I was surprised that he looked so much like you but I knew he wasn't you, primarily because Shun wouldn't have hurt you like that, even on accident, and you would have recognized my voice right away. We just talked for a bit, he asked me if Shun was the one who attacked all those LDS people and I answered him in exchange for him answering a question of my own; I asked him about Sora."

"What did you find out?"

"That kid's a friend of Sora's so I tried to warn him about him. I don't know if it worked but I was hoping that it would because I don't want an innocent to get hurt 'cause of this conflict anymore than you do. I don't know if he took my warning to heart or not though," Kenshin admitted.

"There is a good chance he didn't, simply because trusting someone he doesn't know over his friend is not something most people would do," Yuto said.

"Yeah, I know, but I hope he did."

 _As do I. There is something not right about Sora and I can only hope that it doesn't result in the innocent getting hurt_ , Yuto thought before he stood up and added, "Let's go. The tournament is going to begin soon so we should find a prime location to watch the duels without drawing attention to ourselves."

"Right," Kenshin said, also standing up and the two of them walked out of the hideout in search of a good location to watch the tournament.

 **. . .**

Yuya watched Futoshi's duel just outside of the duel arena where the Action Field was currently activated and smiled. Futoshi was really putting up a fight and was holding his own against his opponent, the Junior representative from Smiling Duel School known as Shimizu Takeshi. His Doodle Beast monsters were keeping Shimizu on his toes.

"He's doing really well," Kazuki commented and winced when Futoshi was sent sprawling to the ground as his Life Points fell to 900, putting him below Shimizu. It was a good thing the Action Fields for the participants in the Junior Division were soft so he wasn't hurt. He also still had one monster on his field so, at least, he wasn't completely defenseless.

"I end my turn," Shimizu said as Futoshi got to his feet and then jumped up to sit on Doodle Beast – Stego's neck.

"My move," Futoshi said, drawing a card and then setting it. "I set a card and end with that."

Shimizu raised an eyebrow but shrugged. "All right. I draw," he said and drew a card before he pointed. "Red Mask, attack Doodle Beast – Stego!"

"I activate my Trap!" Futoshi declared, revealing his facedown. "Doodlebook – Blocking the Way! When a Doodle Beast monster I control is targeted for an attack, I can negate that attack!"

"That buys him another turn," Kazuki mused as Shimizu, once his monster was forced to return to his side of the field, ended his turn.

Futoshi drew a card, starting his turn, and immediately went on to bring out his strongest monster—Doodle Beast – Tyranno—which he used to win the duel.

As the announcer proclaimed the winner of the duel, Yuya grinned and cheered along with his brother, friends, and Futoshi's parents.

"The first win for You Show!" Shuzo exclaimed while punching the air in excitement.

"Oh, Dad," Yuzu said with a sigh but smiled all the same.

"Nice job, Futoshi," Ayu praised with a grin at Futoshi as he joined the small group once the Action Field had turned off. "I'm gonna win my duel, too!"

"Who are you going against, Ayu?" Yuya asked.

"Uhh." Ayu pulled out her duel disk and turned it on to remind herself of who her opponent was. "They're from LDS. Their name's Layra."

"Well, whoever he is, I'm sure you're gonna give him the shivers!" Futoshi said cheerfully.

Sora hummed. "So, after Ayu's duel, it's yours, right, Kazuki?" He turned to the white-haired boy, who nodded.

"Yeah."

"You're gonna be fine. You've pretty much mastered Fusion Summoning—I still say that you've known how to Fusion Summon all along—so you're gonna kick Hokuto's butt," Sora said with a grin.

"I haven't known Fusion Summoning all along," Kazuki deadpanned.

"Still don't believe it."

"Of course you don't. And, to be fair, Yuya mastered Fusion Summoning in his first duel using it, too. Why aren't you telling him this?"

Sora shrugged and smirked. "'Cause I haven't had the chance. So, Yuya, have you been hiding your Fusion Summoning skills from everyone, too?" he asked, turning his green gaze to Yuya, who gave him a deadpan look.

"No, and thanks a lot, Kazuki," he said, giving Kazuki a dry look.

"What? I wasn't expecting him to actually do that," his brother protested.

"Ayu's duel is about to start," Yuzu reminded.

Ayu nodded and rested a hand on her deck holder. "I'm gonna make You Show proud," she said with a beaming smile before she turned and jogged into the arena where her duel was going to take place.

Yuya turned his attention to the duel, watching as Layra stepped onto the field. They were a small kid with an almost vacant expression on their face with a hat and the hood of their aqua-colored jacket hiding most of their light purplish-gray hair. Their duel disk was activated as they faced Ayu who was smiling and waving at the You Show students and her parents who'd moved closer to the Action Field, her dad had a video camera and was gushing at how cute his daughter was. It reminded him a bit of how Shuzo acted around Yuzu when they were growing up.

The duel began and Ayu started things off by summoning her Aquaactress Guppy and then activating three Continuous Magic Cards—Aquarium Stage, Aquarium Set, and Aquarium Lighting—which prevented her Water-Attribute monsters from being destroyed by battle except by other Water monsters, increased the Attack of her Aquaactress monsters on the field by 600, and doubled the Attack of her Aquaactress monsters when they battle respectively. It was a strong start, even if Ayu did make the mistake of forgetting that one couldn't attack during their first turn.

"Oops, I forgot about that," Ayu said with a smile as she rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly before she picked a card in her hand inserted it. "I set a card and end my turn."

Yuya chuckled a little bit and turned to Layra, wondering just what the other kid was going to do.

"My turn, I draw," Layra said monotonously before they inserted a card into their duel disk and activated a Magic Card called Persona Shutter – Layer 1, which allowed them to copy Ayu's monster. Once they had a copy of Aquaactress Guppy, with a lens covering one of her eyes, on the field, they set a card and ended his turn with that.

"I wonder why Layra copied one of Ayu's monsters like that," Tatsuya said thoughtfully.

"My turn," Ayu said and drew a card. "I summon Aquaactress Tetra." As her Aquaactress Tetra appeared on the field, Ayu hopped onto her back and it swam around the water-filled canyon while Ayu scanned the area for an Action Card. She found one, Sunshine Smile, and activated it after she declared an Attack on Layra's Guppy, which increased the Attack of Guppy by 400 until the end of the Battle Phase.

"Not a bad move. She'll be able to deal a bit more damage because Aquarium Lighting will double her Guppy's current Attack as well as Layra's current Guppy's attack but her Guppy will be stronger by 800 points," Yuzu commented, watching as Ayu's Guppy destroyed the copy of Guppy and lowered Layra's Life Points to 3200. She then attacked directly with Tetra, knocking Layra's Life Points down to 2300.

"That's my girl! And she's so cute, too!" Ayu's dad gushed.

Yuya leaned toward Yuzu. "He reminds me of your dad when you were Ayu's age," he said quietly.

Yuzu flushed. "Yeah, don't remind me," she murmured back.

Kazuki shook his head in amusement.

Layra managed to turn things around during their turn, though, by negating the effects of Ayu's Continuous Magic Cards, destroying Tetra, and knocking Ayu's Life Points to 1900. Ayu still had Guppy on the field though and, during her next turn, she turned matters around yet by Tributing Guppy to Advance Summon Aquaactress Arowana, which had 2000 Attack and caused Layra's Layer 1 to be destroyed, leaving his field barren.

Layra activated their facedown Persona Shutter – Instant and Special Summoned it as a Normal Monster that was an exact copy of Arowana. Even though it would result in a draw if Ayu's Arowana should attack, at least it would prevent Layra from taking damage. "However, it will be destroyed at the end of the Battle Phase," Layra said monotonously.

"Hmm, well, not bad, protecting your Life Points with that monster," Ayu said and grinned, adding, "But it's not good enough. I activate my facedown, Aqua Story – Urashima! Now I can banish two Aquaactress monsters in my Cemetery to make the attack of one of your monsters 100 and its attack can't be changed by other card effects this turn! I banish Guppy and Tetra to lower your Arowana's Attack to 100."

The copy of Arowana weakened, turning rather wrinkly, as her Attack fell to 100.

"Now, Arowana, attack that old granny Arowana!" Ayu ordered and her Arowana successfully destroyed the copy and reduced Layra's Attack to 400 while knocking them off their feet.

Ayu's parents immediately began cheering again.

"She's on a roll," Tatsuya exclaimed.

"Shivers," Futoshi gasped.

"Looks like she's about to achieve You Show's second win of the day," Yuzu said.

"I end my turn," Ayu said.

"My turn, I draw," Layra said and drew a card before they immediately summoned it. "I summon C/C One-Eyed Past Eye."

A purple-and-silver monster wit a red eye appeared on the field and Layra went on with their turn by activating Montage Fusion.

"Fusion? So he's a Fusion user?" Kazuki said, watching as Layra copied Ayu's Arowana with Montage Fusion's effect and used the copy as a Fusion Material.

As the vortex appeared above Layra's head, Layra chanted, " _Supreme ruler of the river of shining scales, I offer you the power residing in my eye! Fusion Summon! Come forth. Cutting all with your blade of water! C/C/C Water Sword the Embodiment of Fused Arms!_ "

A shining disk with small purple orbs and two larger green orbs on it appeared on the field with 2400 Attack.

Layra attacked with C/C/C Water Sword the Embodiment of Fused Arms before revealing their monster's effect. "When Water Sword battles, it gains Attack equal to the combined Attack of all other Water monsters on the field," they said as their monster's Attack jumped up to 4400.

Ayu's eyes widened and a blast of water shot away from Layra's C/C/C monster and crashed into Arowana, destroying it and sending Ayu flying backwards and off her feet as her Life Points fell to zero.

As the Action Field faded away, and Layra walked away to be intercepted by the announcer, Yuya and his friends moved forward after Ayu's parents who rushed to the little girl's side. She wasn't hurt but Yuya could see the disappointment in her eyes.

"I'm sorry," she said sadly.

Yuya moved forward and knelt down in front of the red-haired girl, resting his hands on her shoulders. "Don't worry about it, Ayu," he said gently and, when Ayu looked up at him, he smiled and added, "Everyone loses occasionally. It's part of the game. All you have to do is learn from your loss but you don't have to be sad about it."

Ayu smiled and nodded slowly. "Yeah, you're right," she said. "Thanks, Big Bro Yuya."

Yuya ruffled the little girl's head, that smile remaining on his lips. "No problem, Ayu-chan," he said and stood up.

"I should get going," Kazuki said. "My duel's about to begin and I don't want to be late to it."

Yuya nodded and smiled. "Am I finally gonna get to see that surprise you were talking about earlier?" he asked.

"If things work out well then, yeah, you will," Kazuki said but Yuya could still hear the nervousness in his brother's voice.

He moved over to join his brother and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You'll be fine," he reassured the white-haired boy. "Remember, don't forget to smile."

"I won't," Kazuki promised.

 **. . .**

 **Next Time: Polar Palace! Battle in the Snow**

 **. . .**


	8. Polar Palace! Battle in the Snow

****Hi everyone.****

 ** **This is probably going to be the last update for a while, due to me focusing quite a bit on my original story, and on my other as of yet unposted ARC-V story as well as work – which is going to get busy due to the holidays coming up – but I hope everyone enjoys it.****

 ** **Thank you to** ** _Dark Angel, talesfanjmf, Guest,_** **and** ** _MagicalPrincess07_** **for reviewing the last chapter. You guys are great.****

 ** **And, as usual, thank you to EndlessNight025 for being an awesome beta-reader/co-author.****

 ** **Reviews, as always, are much appreciated!****

 ** **Turn 8****

 ** **Polar Palace! Battle in the Snow****

 _It was early morning and Kazuki found himself sitting on the back porch, watching as the stars faded away to be replaced by rays of sunlight. The small boy, only about eight years old, curled his knees close to him and rested his chin on them as he kept his gaze fixed on the sky._

 _"What seems to be on your mind, son?" At the sound of his father's voice, Kazuki lowered his head and turned it to find Sakaki Yushou sitting down beside him with one leg bent and the other stretched out in front of him, a smile on his face._

 _"Just thinking," Kazuki said, turning his gaze back to the sky. "The stars are so bright and yet they go away when the sun comes up, like the sun's light is outshining theirs."_

 _Yushou hummed as he gazed at the sky as well. "Perhaps, but the stars help to light up the night just as the sun lights up the day. They both serve to bring light to the world, whether it is the middle of the night or the middle of the day. Without the stars, or the moon for that matter, the night would be really dark and, without the sun, the day would be really dark as well. They are both sources of light in the sky so it doesn't matter if one goes away when the other goes up, the stars are just going to sleep while the sun takes over for the day."_

 _Kazuki giggled. "Stars don't sleep, Daddy."_

 _"Oh? And how do you know that?" Yushou said._

 _"'Cause they're stars."_

 _"So? Who's to say stars can't sleep? We don't know. Have you ever asked a star whether it sleeps or not?"_

 _"You're just being silly now, Daddy," Kazuki said with a laugh._

 _"Maybe I am but it got you to laugh," Yushou said with a grin._

 _The white-haired boy tilted his head to the side. "Was that why you said that? 'Cause you wanted me to laugh?" he asked, puzzled._

 _"Of course. You were looking far too serious for some reason so I decided to get you to laugh. And it worked," Yushou said before adding, "You know it's always good to laugh. Laughter is like the sun and the stars, it lightens up a serious mood and helps you remember that light always exists, even if not in the literal sense. Even when it's dark outside, light comes about in feelings of happiness and in actions such as laughter and smiling. Don't forget that."_

 _"I won't, Daddy," Kazuki said and turned his gaze back to the sky. "I like watching the stars. There are so many out there. I wonder how many there are."_

 _"Far too many for any of us to count," Yushou said and, reaching up a hand, ruffled Kazuki's hair before adding, "But why don't we go inside? It's still early but I was thinking we could get started on breakfast while waiting for your mom and Yuya to wake up."_

 _"Okay," Kazuki said and, unfolding his legs, got to his feet while Yushou stood up as well._

 _Yushou smiled down at Kazuki as he led the way back into the house. "You know, Kazuki, I think, someday, you're going to shine as bright as those stars," he said._

 _"You think so?"_

 _"You and Yuya, yes. I think both of you will shine bright someday, and probably outshine me," Yushou said and, stretching a hand, gently picked up the pendant that hung around Kazuki's neck. "You'll shine as bright as a star, and as this pendant."_

 _"No one can outshine you, Daddy. You're the best Entertainment Duelist in the world," Kazuki declared while gazing at the sapphire pendant that dangled from his father's hand._

 _Yushou laughed and ruffled Kazuki's hair with his free hand. "Well, if you say that then it must be true," he said and traced his finger over the sapphire. "Do you know what sapphires stand for, Kazuki?"_

 _"Huh? They stand for something?" Kazuki wondered._

 _Yushou released the pendant and it swung down to lay gently on Kazuki's chest. "All gem's represent something. All kinds of gems can represent various things but the one I like the best for sapphires is that they represent inner peace and honesty and they're also known to protect against negative energy," he said._

 _"Really?" Kazuki lifted up the sapphire pendant and studied the brilliant blue gemstone situated in the middle of the silver bale the silver chain was attached to._

 _"Yes." Yushou chuckled and walked toward the kitchen as he added, "Now come on, Kazuki. Help me with breakfast. Let's hope we don't completely wreck the kitchen again or your mom is going to be mad at me."_

 _Kazuki laughed but nodded and joined his father._

 **. . .**

Kazuki toyed with the sapphire pendant that hung around his neck as he hovered near the entrance to the stadium where his duel was about to take place. He wasn't sure why he started thinking about that conversation he had with his father six years ago but he mused that it might have been because he had been thinking about how far he'd come as a duelist.

He was now participating in the Maiami Championship Tournament and it had only been because of his determination to fulfill his goal. He still didn't think that he could outshine his father, and he would admit that if there was anyone who was on the way to outshining their father then it was Yuya, but that didn't mean that he couldn't try to live up to his father's expectations for him.

He took a deep breath and let go of the pendant before making his way toward the doors that would let him into the arena. The security officers stepped aside and opened the door for him and Kazuki walked into it before walking across the arena floor, very much aware of the cheers that echoed around him and the eyes that were focused on him.

It was nerve-wracking, extremely nerve-wracking. He had never dueled in front of so many people before and, even though he knew he would have to do that the instant he'd decided to participate in the Maiami Championship Tournament, it was a bit hard to bite back his nerves.

 _ _Remember, don't forget to smile.__

Yuya's words echoed in his head and Kazuki took another deep breath before letting a small half-smile cross his lips as he raised a hand and waved at the audience, much like he had done when he'd first arrived in the stadium with the rest of You Show.

"And here we are," Nico's voice called as Hokuto stepped onto the field, a smirk on his lips as he waved at the crowd. "The first match of the Junior Youth First Round! It will be LDS's Shijima Hokuto versus You Show's Sakaki Kazuki!"

Cheers erupted from the crowd and Kazuki lowered his hand as he faced Hokuto.

Hokuto smirked and held out his duel disk and activated it, revealing a blue-edged blade. "I plan on winning this duel, Kazuki," he said. "Your brother may have broken my win streak but that doesn't mean I can't start a new one by beating you."

"We won't know who wins until the final turn is played," Kazuki said as he also activated his duel disk, revealing a purple-edged blade.

"Let's begin!" Nico said. "Now let's start by deciding the Action Field." The orb of cards that floated above their heads glowed until a card appeared and Nico added, "Action Field Polar Palace, activate!"

The field changed and Kazuki gazed around, watching as a beautiful palace made entirely out of ice emerged onto the field. He was standing on one of the battlements while Hokuto was standing on the other directly across from him. Various trees laden with snow lay scattered across the field while stairways spiraled around the tall main keep that rose up in the center of the palace. Snow covered the battlements, the walls that bordered the arena, and the grounds below in thick layers.

"A bit too cold for my tastes but eh, oh well," Hokuto said with a shrug and smirked at Kazuki.

Kazuki set his face in determination, trying hard not to think about the cheering crowd.

"Let's begin!" Nico shouted.

"Duelists locked in battle," Kazuki started off the chant.

"Kicking against the earth and dancing in the air alongside their monsters," Hokuto continued as he hopped onto the stairs that led to the top of the battlement.

"They storm through the field!" Kazuki continued as he copied Hokuto's movements until the two of them jumped down into the courtyard.

"Behold! This is the newest and greatest evolution of Dueling! ACTION DUEL!" they declared at the same time as they drew their opening hands and the sphere of cards above their heads shattered and rained Action Cards down onto the snow-covered field below.

 ** **Kazuki: 4000 | Hokuto: 4000****

"I'll start things off," Kazuki said and glanced at his hand, another half-smile forming on his lips when he realized that he had the chance to put what he'd been teaching himself since he got that particular card from Kenshin to use.

 _ _Time to surprise Yuya and the others__ _,_ he thought as he picked a card in his hand and inserted it into his duel disk. "I activate the Permanent Magic Card, Ice Star Calling! With this, since I control no monsters, I can Special Summon one Ice Star monster from my hand. I choose Ice Star Virgo!"

He picked the other card in his hand and placed it into his duel disk and a blast of icy water emerged in a column on the field before a beautiful maiden dressed in a flowing dark-blue dress covered in stardust stepped onto the field (3/1400/800).

"And next, I Normal Summon Ice Star Sagittarius!" Kazuki added and, in another burst of icy water, a dark-blue centaur covered in stardust and wielding a silver bow and arrow with a quiver of silver arrows on his back galloped onto the field (3/1200/600).

"Two Level 3 monsters?" Hokuto frowned. "You're not going to do what I think you're going to do, are you?"

"Depends on what you're thinking," Kazuki said. "But, first, I activate Sagittarius's effect. When it's Normal Summoned, I can inflict 200 damage to you for each card in your hand!"

Sagittarius took aim and fired five consecutive arrows that crashed into Hokuto and pushed him backwards.

 ** **Kazuki: 4000 | Hokuto: 3000****

"And Kazuki draws first blood!" Nico called while the audience cheered.

"And I'm not stopping there," Kazuki called and gestured to his two monsters. "I overlay Ice Star Sagittarius and Ice Star Virgo!"

The two aforementioned Ice Star monsters turned into blue swirls as the spinning galaxy emerged onto the field in between Kazuki and Hokuto.

"W...What?!" Hokuto gasped.

"Sakaki Kazuki is performing an Xyz Summon?!" Nico shouted as a blast of blue lightning erupted from the spinning galaxy into the air.

" _With icy wings shining with stardust, bring the light of paradise to the stars! Xyz Summon! Descend, great bird of paradise who soars across the stars! Rank 3! Interstellar Ice Star Apus!_ " Kazuki chanted as, out of the blast of blue lightning, emerged a beautiful bird with silvery wings. The feathers on its chest and back were dark blue and speckled with tiny stars while its sapphire eyes glowed as two orbs of blue light rotated around it (R 3/2150/1550/ORU 2).

 **. . .**

Yuya's jaw dropped, his crimson eyes widening at his brother successfully performing an Xyz Summon. "He...I didn't even know he had an Xyz Monster," he blurted out, unable to hide the shock in his voice and then he grinned. __So this is the surprise that you were talking about. You've managed to learn another summoning method__ _,_ he thought.

"Where did he learn how to Xyz Summon?" Gongenzaka said in surprise.

"I think he taught himself," Yuzu said, a big smile on her face. "Like he taught himself how to Fusion Summon."

Sora hummed. "I wonder...where did you get that Xyz Monster?" he murmured to himself, a slight hint of scorn in his voice but, when Yuya glanced at him curiously, his face was impassive and he was smiling. Yuya figured he'd imagined it and pushed the thought aside.

"He probably got it at a card shop or something," he said He couldn't stop smiling, though; to think his brother had grown so much as a duelist that he had been able to learn a second summoning method.

 _ _I'm proud of you, Little Bro__ _,_ he thought.

"Where did you learn to Xyz Summon?" Hokuto blurted out on the field.

Kazuki let a smile cross his lips, a full one that seemed to light up his entire face and probably one of the few full smiles that Yuya has seen on his brother's lips in years. "I taught myself," he said simply.

"Oh ho! Now that is interesting," Nico said. "Sakaki Kazuki has just revealed that he taught himself how to Xyz Summon!"

"That smile makes him look so cute," one girl seated near Yuya and his friends commented to her friend.

"I know, right? He goes to our school but I've never seen him smile like that. He should smile more often," her companion said. "And it's actually really cool that he actually taught himself how to Xyz Summon."

"I know, right?"

Yuya had to sweatdrop at the first girl's comment but he did agree with the second girl's comments.

"I activate Apus's effect," Kazuki added. "When he's Xyz Summoned, I can draw two cards and then discard one." He did so before adding, "And I activate Ice Star Cetus's effect. Since it was sent to the Cemetery by a card effect, I can activate its effect to draw one more card."

He did so and immediately set it. "I end my turn with this," he said.

"I wonder how he'll do," Sora said. "He may have been able to Xyz Summon on his first turn but he is up against someone who's had more practice with Xyz Summoning."

"Even so, it's still impressive that he was able to do that. I have to wonder when he started teaching himself how to Xyz Summon, especially since he's been focusing on mastering Fusion Summoning for the past month or so," Yuzu mused.

"I'm curious about that too, though I don't see why he'd use an _Xyz Monster_ of all things but whatever," Sora said and hummed before shrugging and adding, "Eh, I'll just ask when he wins this duel."

 **. . .**

"Hey, that Kazuki kid used the card I gave him," Kenshin commented from where he and Yuto were watching the match.

Yuto turned and gave Kenshin a look.

"What? It was supposed to be his anyway. Remember when that shopkeeper mistook me for Kazuki? Yeah, he gave me that card and I just gave it to Kazuki 'cause it was supposed to be his," Kenshin explained.

"Am I right to assume this is also when Kazuki learned your name?"

"I didn't see any harm in telling him," Kenshin said with a shrug and turned his light-orange gaze back to the screen. "My instincts are still saying that Kazuki isn't a bad guy, in spite of the summoning method that he uses. He and Yuzu are both good people and really do just want to keep those they care about safe."

"I know." Yuto had known that from the moment Yuzu and Kazuki explained their reasons for learning how to Fusion Summon during their talk in that alley a few days earlier.

 **. . .**

"Xyz Summoning, huh?" Kurosaki Shun murmured to himself as he leaned against the wall in the hallway while watching the duel between Shijima Hokuto and the boy who bore an unkindly resemblance to Kenshin. "And, according to him, he taught himself?"

Shun had to give the boy some credit for teaching himself a summoning method rather than receiving instruction from teachers at LDS. He knew nothing of the school that Sakaki Kazuki attended but he suspected that, if the kid had to teach himself a particular summoning method, then it was likely You Show Duel School didn't teach other summoning methods.

He hummed to himself as he debated whether the boy had the potential to fight in the coming war. Reiji had already told him that the tournament was used to find the duelists who were strong enough to fight in the coming war and Shun wanted to keep an eye on them to see if they were strong enough.

He decided that he wouldn't know until after the duel had ended, since they were only on the first turn, so he just relaxed back against the wall and went back to watching.

 **. . .**

"Hmm, Xyz Summoning on your first turn, and learning how to Xyz Summon on your own. I gotta give ya some props for that," Hokuto said as he drew a card. "But even so, I'm still far superior to you in terms of Xyz Summoning. I Normal Summon Sacred Gredi!"

In a burst of light, a silver clad spellcaster wielding a scepter with a purple cloak on its back appeared on the field (4/1600/1400).

"And when Sacred Gredi is Normal Summoned, I can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower Sacred monster from my hand. Come on out, Sacred Pollux!" Hokuto added with a grin and Sacred Pollux, an armored warrior wielding two swords, appeared on the field (4/1700/600).

"I activate Apus's effect," Kazuki announced. "Since you Special Summoned a monster, I can detach an Overlay Unit to draw one card."

Apus absorbed one of his orbs of blue light as he drew a card (Apus: ORU 2-1).

"Alright. I also use Pollux's effect, which lets me Normal Summon Sacred Dabaran!"

A third monster appeared on his field, it was a beast-warrior with horns sticking out of his head and wielding a glowing orange ring in one hand (3/1300/800).

"And Dabaran lets me Special Summon one Level 3 Sacred monster from my hand. I'll bring out Sacred Leonis!" Hokuto added as a silver armored figure with blue spikes jutting out of the top of its head appeared on the field (3/1000/1800).

"Four monsters at once, huh?" Kazuki murmured before he darted off in search of an Action Card, just in case.

"I overlay my Level 4 Gredi and Pollux!" Hokuto declared as the two aforementioned became golden swirls that were engulfed by the spinning galaxy. "Xyz Summon! Appear, Rank 4! Sacred Omega!"

A centaur-like monster with blindingly bright white armor stepped onto the field with two yellow orbs rotating around it (R 4/2400/500/ORU 2).

"And I'm not done yet. I also overlay my Level 3 Dabaran and Leonis! Xyz Summon! Come forth, Sacred Hyades!" Hokuto declared as a bull-like monster in white and gold armor stepped onto the field with yellow orbs rotating around it (R 3/1900/1100/ORU 2).

"And that's not all I'm doing," Hokuto added with a smirk.

 **. . .**

"Gees, is his turn ever going to end?" Sora said in boredom. Seriously, there was only so much Xyz Summoning he could watch without wanting to just leave. Not only did it grow tiring to watch one Xyz Summon after another but it was really boring to see such an inferior summoning method being used so often in one duel.

He turned his gaze to Kazuki and his thoughts went to that question he had asked earlier.

"He seems to be setting up something," Yuzu said.

"Likely so. Why else would he bring out so many Xyz Monsters?" Gongenzaka said.

"He might use one of those monsters to bring out Ptolemys Messier 7," Yuzu said, "like he did during his duel against Yuya."

"I now overlay Sacred Hyades!" Hokuto declared and, as Hyades became a yellow swirl that vanished into the spinning galaxy, he chanted, " _Rain down your dazzling light! Xyz Summon! Appear! Rank 6! Sacred Ptolemys Messier 7!_ "

With a roar, the white-and-gold machine dragon emerged onto the field and spread its wings as three yellow orbs orbited around it (R 6/2700/2000/ORU 3).

"Looks like you were right about that," Sora mused. __I wonder how you'll overcome this, Kazuki__ _,_ he thought.

 **. . .**

Kazuki spotted an Action Card resting on top of one of the snow-laden benches lay nearby and darted toward it, grabbing it. "I activate the Action Magic, Hypothermia. I target one monster on the field with 2500 or more Attack and destroy it. I choose your Ptomelys Messier 6," he said.

"Don't think you're gonna get rid of Ptomelys that easily," Hokuto said with a smirk. "I activate Omega's effect and detach an Overlay Unit to make all Sacred monster I control unaffected by Magic or Trap effects this turn."

Omega absorbed one of his Overlay Units and the card that Kazuki had just played shattered in icy pixels.

"Battle! Ptolemys Messier 7, attack Interstellar Ice Star Apus!" Hokuto declared and the machine dragon roared before unleashing a powerful blast of energy that crashed into Apus and obliterated it while causing Kazuki to skid backwards a few feet.

 ** **Kazuki: 3450 | Hokuto: 3000****

"I activate my facedown, Glacial Summoning," Kazuki said, revealing his facedown card. "When an Ice Star monster I control is destroyed by battle, I can activate this card to Special Summon one Level 4 or lower Ice Star monster from my Deck. I choose Ice Star Capricornus in Defense Mode."

Out of the flipped up Trap Card came a burst of water that morphed into the half-goat, half-fish form of Ice Star Capricornus (4/1600/1000).

"And when Capricornus is Special Summoned, I can add one Ice Star Magic Card from my Deck to my hand. I choose Ice Star Fusion," Kazuki said and retrieved the card.

"Well, I suppose you saved yourself from losing more Life Points this turn. Sacred Omega, attack Capricornus!" Hokuto ordered and Omega charged forward and crashed into Capricornus, destroying it.

"And now I overlay Omega!" Hokuto said firmly and, as Omega vanished into the spiraling galaxy, he chanted, " _Rain down your dazzling light! Xyz Summon! Appear! Rank 6! Sacred Ptolemys Messier 7!_ " Another Ptolemys Messier 7 appeared on the field (R 6/2700/2000/ORU 2).

"I set two cards facedown and end my turn," Hokuto said.

"Alright, my move," Kazuki said and drew a card before adding it to his hand and picking up another card. "I activate Ice Star Calling's effect to Special Summon Ice Star Taurus in Defense Mode!"

In a burst of icy water, the dark-blue bull with silver horns stepped onto the field (4/1700/1100).

"As it was Special Summoned, I activate its effect to add one Ice Star monster, except Taurus, from my Deck to my hand. I choose to add Ice Star Serpens," Kazuki said and retrieve the card before adding, "And now I activate Ice Star Fusion!"

"So you're Fusion Summoning now, huh? Using two summoning methods in one duel? Huh, I guess you are a decent duelist," Hokuto mused.

"I fuse Ice Star Taurus and Ice Star Serpens!" Kazuki said as the vortex of blues appeared behind him and Taurus and Serpens were engulfed in the spiraling vortex.

" _Serpent that slithers around the stars, become one with the bull of the Zodiac in a vortex of ice and snow and reveal to us your new form! Fusion Summon! Appear, dragon that soars across the night sky! Level 8! Interstellar Ice Star Draco!_ "

With a roar that caused some snow to fall from the nearby trees and the edges of the battlement, the beautiful stardust-covered legless dark-blue serpentine dragon flew onto the field, spreading its magnificent silver feathery wings while its sapphire eyes glowed (8/2800/2200).

 **. . .**

Shun stiffened and narrowed his eyes. _So he uses_ _ _Fusion Summoning as well?__ he thought and pressed his lips together because, while the boy used Fusion Summoning, Shun didn't get the same hostile feeling as with the other Academia duelists that he's gone against in Heartland.

And when he looked at the kid, and saw the smile that was on his lips, he couldn't see anything but innocence in that smile. He knew not to take what he saw as the truth, as anyone could deceive others without the other knowing that they were being deceived because they were that good at hiding their true intentions, but he decided that he would simply keep an eye on that boy for now.

One condition that Akaba Reiji had insisted upon when he invited Shun to join the Maiami Championship Tournament was for Shun to refrain from attacking anyone else and to not card anyone else.

 _ _"The fact remains that you do not know who is the enemy and who is simply an innocent in this dimension so I ask that you refrain from attacking anyone, even if they use Fusion Summoning because there are plenty of students in this city that use Fusion Summoning. The one I told you about who may be from Academia is a different matter but I want you to prove that he is from Academia rather than just attacking blindly,"__ Reiji had said.

Shun reluctantly agreed and, right now, there was nothing to suggest that this boy was from Academia. Even so, he found that the boy's last name sounded oddly familiar; it was as if he has either met someone with that name before or, perhaps, heard it in passing.

He pushed that thought out of his mind. __Now's not the time to think about that,__ he thought and refocused his attention on the duel.

 **. . .**

Yuto hummed as he watched Sakaki Kazuki Fusion Summon but, just like Kenshin said he felt during the duel he'd witnessed, Yuto felt no hostility in his actions and his actions were nothing more than a duelist using Fusion Summoning. "He uses that summoning method with the ease of someone who's done it several times before," he noted.

"Yeah. He probably has," Kenshin said. "Wonder if Shun's watching this duel."

"I can only hope that he won't do anything drastic." Yuto could only hope that the deal Shun had made with Akaba Reiji would stop him from doing anything rash and attacking Sakaki Kazuki simply because he used Fusion Summoning.

"He won't. He said he wouldn't anyway, or implied that he wouldn't," Kenshin said and folded his arms across his chest.

Yuto turned his attention back to the duel as Kazuki went on with his turn.

" _I activate the effects of Draco and Serpens,_ " Kazuki said. " _First, since Ice Star Serpens was sent to the Cemetery by a card effect, I can inflict 200 damage to you for each Ice Star monster in my Cemetery and I currently have six._ "

Six blasts of ice shot out of the ground and crashed into Shijima.

 ** **Kazuki: 3450 | Hokuto: 1800****

"Nice," Kenshin said.

" _And, next, since Draco was Fusion Summoned, I can Special Summon one Level 6 or lower Ice Star from my Cemetery in Defense Position with its effects negated and I'll bring back Sagittarius!_ " Kazuki said and the centaur from earlier on in the duel returned to the field (3/1200/600).

" _I activate Draco's second effect and send Sagittarius to the Cemetery to make all monster you currently control lose 200 Attack and Defense for each of their Levels or Ranks,_ " Kazuki added and Draco unleashed a burst of icy wind that enveloped both of Shijima's Ptolemys Messier 7's (2700-1500/2000-800 x2).

Yuto hummed. "Not bad."

"Yeah, not bad at all," Kenshin agreed.

 **. . .**

As Draco resettled above Kazuki's head, the white-haired boy added, "I activate the effect of Sagittarius. Since it was sent to the Cemetery by a card effect, I can inflict 200 damage to you for each card that you control."

Hokuto darted off, diving forward and grabbing an Action Card. "Action Magic, Hail Veil! I reduce the effect damage to zero and inflict 500 damage to you," he declared.

Kazuki shielded himself from the blast of hail that crashed into him.

 ** **Kazuki: 2950 | Hokuto: 1800****

"But I still have my attack! Battle! Draco, attack Ptolemys Messier 7! Frozen Star Fire!" Kazuki ordered while moving toward the palace walls while Draco roared and prepared to unleash its attack.

"I activate my facedown! Lumenize! This negates your attack and increases Ptolemys Messier 7 by the Attack of Draco until my next End Phase," Hokuto said, revealing his facedown.

Kazuki immediately inserted one of the cards in his hand. "I activate the Instant Magic, Ice Star Beacon! I send Draco to my Cemetery to Special Summon one Ice Star monster from my Cemetery! And I choose Draco," he said as Draco flew down into the ground only to reemerge a few seconds later in a beam of bright blue light.

 **. . .**

"Clever use of that card's effect," Sora mused while Nico explained what just happened to the audience, since a few were probably a bit puzzled by what just happened.

"I don't get it," Futoshi said, confused.

Sora glanced at the large boy. "It's simple. Ice Star Beacon's effect sends one Ice Star monster, like Draco, to the Cemetery as a cost to Special Summon a monster from the Cemetery. Since Ice Star Draco was in the Cemetery when Ice Star Beacon's effect resolves, he can be Special Summoned out of it. Plus, since Interstellar Ice Star Draco was sent to the Cemetery, its second effect will activate now, even though it was brought back."

"That is a clever move," Yuzu said. "And, because Lumenize lost its original target, its effect ends so Ptolemys doesn't get the Attack boost."

"Not bad, Kazuki," Yuya said.

 **. . .**

"Hmph, not a bad move," Hokuto begrudgingly admitted.

"It gets better. Since Draco was sent to the Cemetery by a card effect, its effect activates, letting me destroy one card on the field and I choose your first Sacred Ptolemys Messier 7," Kazuki added, pointing at one of the machine dragons and it froze over before shattering.

"Battle! Draco, attack that second Ptolemys Messier 7! Frozen Star Fire!" the Ice Star duelist ordered and Draco began gathering the energy necessary to unleash its attack.

Hokuto darted toward a tree and jumped up, snagging the card that was resting on the snow-laden branch. "Action Magic, Evasion! I negate the attack," he said as he quickly inserted the card.

Kazuki clicked his tongue as his monster's attack was forced to end and he picked another card in his hand. "I set a card and end my turn. And Draco's effect ends now, returning your monster's attack to normal (Ptolemys Messier 7 1500-2700/800-2000).

"I draw," Hokuto said and drew a card before he pressed a key on his duel disk. "I activate Xyz Reborn to Special Summon Sacred Omega from my Cemetery and attach this card to Omega as an Overlay Unit."

The monster with the blindingly bright armor returned to the field with a single yellow orb rotating around him (R 4/2400/500/ORU 0-1).

"I also activate Ptolemys's effect and detach an Overlay Unit to return your dragon to your hand," Hokuto said and smirked. "But your monster will be sent to your Extra Deck instead."

Kazuki clicked his tongue again as Draco vanished and he added Draco's card to his Extra Deck.

"Battle! Ptolemys, attack Kazuki directly," Hokuto ordered.

"I activate my facedown! Glacial Block! This targets your monster and negates your attack," Kazuki said.

"I activate Omega's effect, detaching one Overlay Unit to make all Sacred monsters I control unaffected by Magic and Trap Cards," Hokuto said and Omega absorbed its single orb or light (ORU 1-0).

Ptolemys unleashed a powerful blast of energy that crashed into Kazuki and he, with a cry, was sent flying backwards to crash into a snowdrift near the main keep.

 ** **Kazuki: 250 | Hokuto: 1800****

He sat up, shaking snow off his body and pushed himself to his feet as Hokuto grinned.

"Omega, attack Kazuki directly and end this!" the Sacred user declared.

Kazuki darted up the stairs that lay next to him and dived forward to grab the Action Card that was resting at the top of the stairs. "Action Magic! Blinding Blizzard! I end the Battle Phase!" he shouted as he inserted the card while rolling to his feet and snow swirled in the air with enough force to force Omega to back off.

"Hmph, you saved yourself again. I overlay Omega and Xyz Summon my third Sacred Ptolemys Messier 7!" Hokuto declared and, in a burst of blue lightning that emerged from the spiraling galaxy, another white-and-gold machine dragon emerged onto the field (R 6/2700/2000/ORU 1).

"I end my turn," he added.

"My move," Kazuki said and took a deep breath. This was it. He knew that if he didn't get anything out then he was as good as out of the tournament. _I have to bet everything on this draw_ , he thought. "I draw!"

He drew and glanced at the card. "Yes!" he cheered, unable to keep the smile off his face as he inserted the card he just drew into his duel disk. "I activate Fallen Ice Star Fusion! With this, I can banish Ice Star Virgo and Ice Star Cetus in order to perform a Fusion Summon!"

 **. . .**

"A Fusion Summon using monsters in your Cemetery? Nice," Sora said with a grin as he opened a chocolate bar and bit into it.

"You can do that?" Yuzu said in surprise.

"Uh huh," Sora said. "Certain Fusion cards let you perform a Fusion Summon by banishing monsters in your Cemetery, like Kazuki's card."

"Oh."

Sora chuckled. "And he still says he's only Fusion Summoned in two duels now," he said. "This is a reason why I still don't believe that."

 **. . .**

" _Whale that swims around the stars, become one with the virgin of the Zodiac in a vortex of ice and snow and reveal to us your new form! Fusion Summon! Return to us! Level 8! Interstellar Ice Star Draco!_ " Kazuki chanted as, out of a burst of bright blue light that emerged from the snow-covered ground, flew the magnificent form of Draco who coiled in the air above Kazuki's head (8/2800/2200).

"Since it was Fusion Summoned, I can Special Summon Ice Star Serpens to my field in Defense Mode with its effect negated," Kazuki added and a long dark-blue snake covered in stardust appeared on the field before coiling itself and lifting its head (6/2300/1700).

"And I activate Draco's effect, sending Serpens to the Cemetery to make all your monsters lose 200 Attack and Defense for each of their Ranks until the End Phase!" Kazuki added and an icy wind went over both of Hokuto's Ptolemys, lowering their Attack and Defense (2700-1500/2000-800 x2).

"And since Serpens was sent to the Cemetery by a card effect, I activate its effect to inflict 200 damage to you for each Ice Star monster in my Cemetery, and I have four," the white-haired boy added and four spheres of ice shot out of the ground and crashed into Hokuto, sending him skidding closer to the snow-laden walls.

 ** **Kazuki: 250 | Hokuto: 1000****

"Let's end this, Draco!" Kazuki said and pointed at Hokuto. "Battle! Draco, attack Sacred Ptolemys Messier 7! Frozen Star Fire!"

Draco roared and, as Hokuto attempted to grab an Action Card, the snow that was on the edge of the wall was shaken loose by the roar and fell on top of him, knocking him down just as Draco's attack struck Ptolemys. The white-and-gold machine dragon shattered and the shockwave sent the snow-covered Hokuto skidding backwards.

 ** **Kazuki: 250 W | Hokuto: 0****

"And there you have it!" Nico declared excitedly as the Action Field began to dematerialize and Draco vanished from the field. "The winner of the first match of the Junior Youth Division is Sakaki Kazuki!"

Cheers erupted from the stadium and Kazuki turned to look to find that everyone was cheering. Yuya, Yuzu, Sora, Gongenzaka, and the three kids were on their feet and shouting out their congratulations.

Kazuki smiled and raised a hand, waving at the audience. He won. He was one step closer to becoming a pro duelist and making his dad proud.

 _ _Dad, I hope I made you proud. And Yuya, I hope I made you proud too__ _,_ he thought but, as he looked at Yuya, he could see the pride shining in his brother's eyes and knew that he had done exactly that.

As he left the arena, he was surprised when he heard someone shout his name. He turned to find Hokuto making his way toward him. "Yeah?"

Hokuto held out a card. Kazuki blinked but took the card and glanced at it. Xyz Reborn. He turned to the purple-haired Sacred user. "Why are you giving this to me?"

Hokuto shrugged and folded his arms across his chest. "You use Xyz Summoning so that'll help and I've got more copies so it's not like giving you one is a big deal," he said and smirked. "I have to wonder just how you would have done against me had you participated in those three duels to defend your school."

He turned around and added, "Oh and don't lose, would you?" He walked off without another word.  
Kazuki watched Hokuto go before glancing at the card in his hand and smiled.

"Kazuki!" At the shout of his friends and his brother's shout, Kazuki turned and was nearly knocked off his feet when the three excited kids crashed into him.

"You were great out there," Tatsuya exclaimed.

"You using Xyz Summoning was amazing!" Ayu cheered.

"That duel gave me the shivers!" Futoshi said excitedly.

He patted them on the back and gently disentangled himself from the three kids as Yuya came to his side, a big bright smile on his face.

"Congratulations, Kazuki," he said and ruffled the white-haired boy's hair as he added, "So you teaching yourself how to Xyz Summon was your big surprise, eh? You certainly did surprise me but I'm so proud of you."

Kazuki smiled. He had seen the look in his brother's eyes that conveyed that Yuya felt that way but hearing it just made it that much more real. "Thanks," he said.

"What's next? Are you going to teach yourself how to Synchro Summon now?" Yuzu asked with a teasing smile.

"Who knows? Maybe," Kazuki said.

"If you ever need any pointers about that, you can come and speak with me," Gongenzaka said.

"Thanks, Gongenzaka."

Sora hummed. "So where did you get that Xyz Monster anyway?"

Kazuki thought about his run in with his lookalike and shrugged. "From someone who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, or right time I guess," he answered.

 **. . .**

Kenshin sneezed. "Excuse me. I think someone's talking about me," he said and smirked at Yuto as he added, "But you have to admit that was an enjoyable duel."

"I did enjoy watching it," Yuto admitted. It was probably the first time in a long time that he had actually been able to enjoy watching a duel. It wasn't one in which he was fighting to survive and there was nothing bad about it; no one was getting hurt or turned into cards. It just reminded him, a bit, of his time in Heartland before the invasion.

"Even if we're still doing our work to find information about that Sora kid, I don't think we can help it if the duels are fun to watch," Kenshin commented.

"I suppose not." Yuto did learn one thing from that duel; Sakaki Kazuki was a pretty decent duelist.

"Kazuki has also gotten stronger since I saw him duel last. That Xyz Summoning certainly took me by surprise. I hadn't thought he'd figure out how to do that in the few days it's been since I gave him that card," Kenshin said.

"You learned Xyz Summoning pretty quickly," Yuto reminded him.

"Well, yeah, but I learned from my tutors before I started attending the Spade Branch. He taught himself in only a few days," the light-orange-and-red-haired boy pointed out before he leaned back against the building the two of them were standing beside. "Anyway, nothing suspicious that I can see so far but it's only the first match of this division and that Sora kid hasn't dueled yet."

"We still don't know who Sora is going against," Yuto pointed out.

"That's true."

The two of them turn their attention back to the screen on which Nico Smiley, the announcer, announced the start of the next duel.

"The next duel will be LDS's Kotsa Masumi and You Show's Hiiragi Yuzu! It will start in fifteen minutes so don't go anywhere," Nico declared.

"So Yuzu's in this tournament too, huh?" Yuto mused.

"I wonder if she will use Fusion Summoning or not," Kenshin said.

"Likely so," said Yuto.

"I'm going to contact Shun," Kenshin said as he pulled out his duel disk from its holster. "At the very least, we can find out who his opponent is."

 **. . .**

Shun pushed away from the wall he'd been leaning against as the duel came to an end and walked down the hallway. He had fifteen minutes before the next duel would start, even if he wasn't too thrilled with seeing another duel that was primarily between Fusion users. That Masumi girl had used Fusion Summoning when Shun had gone against her and her companions in that alley and Yuto had told him, when he woke up after Yuto knocked him out, that Hiiragi Yuzu was learning how to Fusion Summon herself.

 _ _I have no say in what summoning method they decide to use but I still don't like it. It brings back far too many bad memories, even if I am trying to not see all Fusion users as the enemy as Akaba Reiji told me to do as part of the deal he set up__ _,_ Shun thought as he swept down the hallway, ignoring the few people that were walking down the hallway.

His duel disk chimed and Shun glanced at it, noticing that he had an incoming call and he turned it on. "What?" he said since he knew there were only three people who would call him: Akaba Reiji, Yuto, and Kenshin.

" _We decided to check up on you,_ " Kenshin's voice said. " _Before you protest that Akaba Reiji might be listening in or whatever, I'm not saying any names or anything incriminating._ "

"Considering you just talked to me only about three hours ago, I know that you aren't just calling to check up on me," Shun said. "What do you want?"

" _Well...alright, we..._ "

" _And by 'we', he means him,_ " Yuto's voice said dryly on the other end.

" _Okay, I'm curious. Do you know who your opponent in this first round is going to be?_ " Kenshin asked.

Shun thought about the cyan-haired boy he'd seen on his duel disk. That was the kid that Akaba Reiji said that he was keeping an eye on who may have ties with Academia. He was planning on seeing if Reiji was right during his duel tomorrow.

But he saw no harm in telling his comrades. They would know right away when the duel began tomorrow anyway.

And Reiji shouldn't be too surprised that Shun would keep his comrades appraised on what was happening with him. They were his allies more so than Reiji could ever be and Shun trusted them far more than he trusted Reiji.

"His name's Shuin'in Sora."

" _Sora, huh? Short kid, cyan-blue hair, wearing a blue jacket that's really rather familiar?_ " Kenshin asked.

"Yes. How do you know him?"

Kenshin was silent for a long moment.

Yuto's voice sighed. " _That kid was there at the harbor that day. You got knocked out before you could see him but he felt very suspicious when I met him so I've been trying to keep an eye on him, to no avail until I found out he was in this tournament,_ " he said.

"And you didn't tell me that you felt suspicious about this kid?" Shun said with a frown.

" _I haven't, exactly, been able to speak to you since that day, Shun,_ " Yuto reminded him.

Shun let loose a breath but he knew that his comrade was right. He had needed some time to cool off after his argument with Kenshin and hadn't had the chance to speak with Yuto at all in the days that followed that, not after finally being able to confront Reiji and then getting invited to participate in the Maiami Championship Tournament.

"I guess so," he said. "Nonetheless, I plan on figuring just who that kid is and where his allegiance lies in my duel with him."

" _When is that duel anyway?_ " Kenshin asked.

"Tomorrow afternoon. I believe it's the last duel of the day," Shun said. He wondered if Reiji had planned for that to happen that way but decided that it didn't matter. So long as he got the truth about who Shuin'in Sora was then he didn't care if he dueled him at midnight.

" _We'll be watching,_ " Yuto said. " _Take care of yourself._ "

"You as well." Shun hung up and lowered his arm as he gazed around the hallway that he'd ended up in while he was walking. It was devoid of people and sunlight streamed in through the large windows that lay across the way.

Shun walked over to the window and gazed out at the city that lay beyond. Maiami City. Untouched by the war that ravaged his homeland. Shun felt bad that the city was very likely going to be on Academia's hit list at some point because of what those Academia duelists had said was their goal.

Untie the four dimensions into one.

And if they were going about doing that by invading the other dimensions then that meant the Standard Dimension was, eventually, going to be a target.

He knew that he didn't want to live through another invasion but, at the same time, he also knew that he would still fight because not only did he want to save Ruri but he also wanted to defeat Academia and destroy them to ensure that those who had fallen in Heartland were avenged.

And ensure that no other dimension suffered the same fate.

 **. . .**

 **Next Time: Fusing Maestras & Steadfast Resolve**

 **. . .**

 **Featured original cards**

 _Kazuki_

Ice Star Sagittarius  
Level 3  
WATER  
Beast-Warrior/Effect  
ATK 1200/DEF 600  
If this card is Normal Summoned: You can inflict 200 damage to your opponent for each card in their hand. If this card is sent to the Graveyard by a card effect: You can inflict 200 damage to your opponent for each card they control. You can only use 1 "Ice Star Sagittarius" effect per turn, and only once that turn.

Ice Star Virgo  
Level 3  
WATER  
Spellcaster/Effect  
ATK 1400/DEF 800  
If this card is Normal Summoned: You can target 1 "Ice Star" monster in your Graveyard; shuffle it into the Deck. If this card is sent to the Graveyard by a card effect: You can target 1 "Ice Star" monster in your Graveyard; add it to your hand. You can only use 1 "Ice Star Virgo" effect per turn, and only once that turn.

Ice Star Capricornus  
Level 4  
WATER  
Beast/Effect  
ATK 1600/DEF 1000  
If this card is Special Summoned: You can add 1 "Ice Star" Spell Card from your Deck to your hand. If this card is sent to the Graveyard by a card effect: You can target 1 "Ice Star" Spell Card in your Graveyard; add it to your hand. You can only use 1 "Ice Star Capricornus" effect per turn, and only once that turn.

Ice Star Taurus  
Level 4  
WATER  
Beast/Effect  
ATK 1700/DEF 1100  
If this card is Special Summoned: You can add 1 "Ice Star" monster from your Deck to your hand, except "Ice Star Taurus". If this card is sent to the Graveyard by a card effect: You can send 1 "Ice Star" monster from your Deck to the Graveyard, except "Ice Star Taurus". You can only use 1 "Ice Star Taurus" effect per turn, and only once that turn.

Ice Star Cetus  
Level 6  
WATER  
Aqua/Effect  
ATK 2200/DEF 1600  
When this card destroys an opponent's monster by battle: Discard 1 random card from your opponent's hand. If this card is sent to the Graveyard by a card effect: You can draw 1 card. You can only use this effect of "Ice Star Cetus" once per turn.

Ice Star Serpens  
Level 6  
WATER  
Reptile/Effect  
ATK 2300/DEF 1700  
When this card destroys an opponent's monster by battle: Inflict damage to your opponent equal to the Level of the destroyed monster x 200. If this card is sent to the Graveyard by a card effect: You can inflict 200 damage to your opponent for each "Ice Star" monster in your Graveyard. You can only use this effect of "Ice Star Serpens" once per turn.

Interstellar Ice Star Draco  
Level 8  
WATER  
Dragon/Fusion/Effect  
ATK 2800/2200  
1 "Ice Star" monster + 1 Level 6 or higher "Ice Star" monster  
Must first be Fusion Summoned. If this card is Fusion Summoned: You can target 1 Level 6 or lower "Ice Star" monster in your Graveyard; Special Summon it in Defense Position, but negate its effects. Once per turn: You can send 1 other "Ice Star" monster from your hand or field to the Graveyard; until the End Phase, monsters your opponent controls lose ATK/DEF equal to their Level/Rank x 200. If this card is sent to the Graveyard by a card effect: You can target 1 card on the field; destroy it. You can only use this effect of "Interstellar Ice Star Draco" once per turn.

Interstellar Ice Star Apus  
Rank 3  
WATER  
Winged Beast/Xyz/Effect  
ATK 2150/DEF 1550  
2 Level 3 "Ice Star" monsters  
If this card is Xyz Summoned: You can draw 2 cards, then discard 1 card. Once per turn, when a monster(s) is Special Summoned (Quick Effect): You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card; draw 1 card. If this card is sent to the Graveyard by a card effect: You can target 1 card on the field; shuffle it into the Deck. You can only use this effect of "Interstellar Ice Star Apus" once per turn.

Fallen Ice Star Fusion  
Normal Spell  
Fusion Summon 1 "Ice Star" Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck, by banishing Fusion Materials listed on it from your field or Graveyard, and if you do, it cannot be destroyed by card effects this turn. During your Main Phase, except during the turn this card was sent to the Graveyard: You can banish this card from your Graveyard; send 1 "Ice Star" monster from your Deck to the Graveyard. You can only use each effect of "Fallen Ice Star Fusion" once per turn.

Ice Star Calling  
Continuous Spell  
Once per turn: You can Special Summon 1 "Ice Star" monster from your hand. You must control no monsters to activate and resolve this effect.

Ice Star Beacon  
Quick-Play Spell  
Send 1 face-up "Ice Star" monster you control to the Graveyard, then target 1 "Ice Star" monster in your Graveyard; Special Summon it. You can only activate 1 "Ice Star Beacon" per turn.

Ice Star Fusion  
Quick-Play Spell  
Fusion Summon 1 "Ice Star" Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck, using monsters from your hand or field as Fusion Materials.

Glacial Block  
Normal Trap  
When an opponent's monster declares an attack: Target the attacking monster; negate the attack, and if you do, inflict 500 damage to your opponent for each "Ice Star" monster you control.

Glacial Summoning  
Normal Trap  
When an "Ice Star" monster you control is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard: Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower "Ice Star" monsters from your hand or Deck.

 _Action Cards_

Hail Veil

Normal Spell

If you would take effect damage: Reduce it to 0, then inflict 500 damage to your opponent.

Hypothermia

Normal Spell

Target 1 face-up monster with 2500 or more ATK; destroy it.

 **. . .**


	9. Fusing Maestras & Steadfast Resolve

****Yay! Chapter 9!****

 ** **And the duel between Yuzu and Masumi was altered by my beta-reader, which is why it's written out in its entirety. Both Misha and I hope that you enjoy the new duel between Yuzu and Masumi and I hope that you enjoy this chapter.****

 ** **Thank you to** ** _Dark Angel, talesfanjmf, Guest, MagicalPrincess07,_** **and** ** _Queen of Peaceful Nights_** **for reviewing the last chapter. You guys are great.****

 ** **Turn 9****

 ** **Fusing Maestras & Steadfast Resolve****

Yuzu would admit that she was nervous. She couldn't help but feel a bit nervous. Her duel against Kotsa Masumi was about to start and she found herself thinking about the last time she had dueled Masumi. She'd lost terribly and those memories refused to leave her mind, even though she knew that she'd gotten stronger as a duelist since then.

She also couldn't stop thinking about Kurosaki. She had no idea why Kurosaki was suddenly part of LDS in spite of how hostile Masumi was toward him the last time they met at the harbor. Kurosaki had even attacked Masumi, or that was what Yuzu thought happened since there was no evidence that anything like that happened when she and Kazuki left after their talk with Yuto and Kenshin. So why was she not treating Kurosaki with hostility as one would expect given all that has happened?

It just didn't make any sense.

"You're up next, Yuzu." Yuya's voice brought Yuzu out of her thoughts and she blinked before turning her head to find her friend looking at her with a smile on his lips. "I have no doubt you're going to win. You've gotten a lot stronger since you last dueled Masumi."

Yuzu nodded and set her face in determination. She couldn't afford to dwell on her thoughts about her last duel against Masumi or about Kurosaki Shun. She had to focus. She couldn't afford to lose this duel. She had to win, for herself, for her friends, and for You Show.

"She'll be fine. Masumi may use Fusion Summoning but Yuzu's skills are far superior," Sora said with a dismissive wave of his hand.

"You'll be great! My little girl, you'll be hot-blooded!" Shuzo said energetically.

Yuzu chuckled. "Dad..." she said with a faint smile.

"Go and get her, Yuzu. I'm with Yuya. You've got this," Kazuki said with an encouraging nod.

"Thanks, Kazuki," Yuzu said.

"I'm looking forward to seeing you win, Yuzu," Sora said with a grin. "And that'll make three wins for You Show today, which is awesome!"

Yuzu chuckled before turning and facing the arena. She took another deep breath before making her way toward the gate, stepping past it once the security guards opened it, and walking to the center of the court.

Masumi, who was in the process of strapping on her duel disk, also made her way toward the center of the court.

Yuzu frowned as she found herself briefly think about Kurosaki again. It was just so hard to know that the same duelist who's been attacking people from LDS was now part of their group, and Masumi claimed that he's been part of their group the entire time. It didn't make any sense.

Masumi hummed. "Your eyes have no luster," she said.

Yuzu flinched. Those words felt like a ten-ton weight dropping onto her head and she scowled inwardly as she realized that she had done what she'd told herself not to do; she got distracted by her thoughts, just as she had during her last duel against Masumi when she'd been so busy thinking about Yuya and Yuto and how much they resembled each other, as well as why Kazuki had a lookalike.

 _ _I will not let that happen again__ _,_ she thought and shoved all those thoughts out of her head as she straightened up and looked Masumi straight in the eye. "You're going to see a different side of me in this duel than what you saw last time," she said firmly.

"That's fine," Masumi said with a wave of her hand. "This is a tournament match after all. It would be rather boring if you didn't even do that."

"The time has come to begin!" Nico declared for everyone to hear. "The second match of the First Round of the Junior Youth Division of the Maiami Championship Tournament! It will be You Show's Hiiragi Yuzu versus LDS's Kotsa Masumi!"

The orb of cards appeared above the air and a single card spun in it before it stopped and Nico declared, " _Action Field! Infinite Bridge, activate!_ "

Crisscrossing railed walkways began to materialize and elevate Yuzu and Masumi above the ground. There were so many that were interconnected thoroughly and made it impossible to see where the bridge began or where it ended. It rose higher and higher until Yuzu and Masumi were almost level with the middle of the stadium walls.

"One misstep will mean a headfirst drop into the abyss," Nico said and grinned. "I wonder which of these two budding Junior Youth duelists shall bloom in this unnerving field! Let's begin!"

"Duelists locked in battle," Yuzu began the chant.

"Kicking against the earth and dancing in the air alongside their monsters!" Masumi continued.

"They storm through the field!"

"Behold! This is the newest and greatest evolution of dueling! ACTION DUEL!" Yuzu and Masumi declared at the exact same time as they activated their duel disk and drew their opening hand while Action Cards rained down on the field.

 ** **Yuzu: 4000 | Masumi: 4000****

"I'll start," Masumi said and held up a card. "I suspect you remember this from our last duel. I activate Gem-Knight Fusion and fuse Gem-Knight Sapphire, Gem-Knight Crystal, and Gem-Knight Emerald in my hand!"

As the three aforementioned monsters appeared and vanished into the spiraling vortex, Masumi chanted: " _Brilliant sapphire of wisdom! Eye of quartz! Brilliant emerald of good fortune! In a whirlpool of light, combine to bring forth a new dazzling radiance! Fusion Summon! Appear! Supreme radiance who illuminates everything! Gem-Knight Master Dia!_ "

The tall, muscular warrior clad in diamond-encrusted armor and wielding a broadsword on which were multiple gems stepped onto the field (9/2900/2500).

"Master Dia gains 100 Attack for each Gem- monster in my Cemetery and there are three," Masumi added and Master Dia's strength increased (2900-3200).

"I set a card and end my turn. Now, come," Masumi said as a vertical facedown appeared at her feet.

"I will. I draw!" Yuzu drew and added the card to her hand before she turned her gaze to the audience. Her eyes locked with Sora's and Kazuki's. Sora grinned and gave her a thumbs' up while Kazuki nodded encouragingly. "You brought out a Fusion monster, so why don't I bring out one of my own?"

"What?" Masumi gasped.

"I activate Fusion," Yuzu declared, inserting the aforementioned card into her duel disk and then held up two cards in her hand. "I fuse Opera the Melodious Diva and Serenade the Melodious Diva!"

As the two divas appeared, they were swallowed up by a vortex as Yuzu chanted: " _Echoing melody! Serene melodious voice! By the guidance of the baton, gather your power! Fusion Summon! Now, come here to the stage! Meisterin Schubert the Melodious Maestra!_ "

An orange haired maestra wielding a baton in one hand appeared on the field. Her orange hair was long and fell in waves down her back. She was dressed in an hourglass-shaped brown and orange dress with a red sash around her waist and hips and a golden mask over her eyes (6/2400/2000).

 **. . .**

"She did it!" Ayu cheered.

"Big Sis Yuzu Fusion Summoned! Awesome," Tatsuya said.

Yuya grinned and glanced at Sora and Kazuki who both had pride in their eyes. "She had some pretty good teachers," he said.

"Well, of course," Sora said. "And Kazuki was good too, I guess."

Kazuki tilted his head to the side. "I can't tell. Was that a compliment?" he said in puzzlement.

Sora patted his shoulder. "Take it however you want," he said and then glanced off to the side.

Yuya didn't know what he was looking at but he did see Sora smile again; however, when he glanced in the direction Sora was looking, he didn't see anyone.

He decided not to worry about it, even as that strange masked kid's words echoed in his head once again, and returned his attention back to the duel. He frowned to himself. __Why am I remembering that kid's words now of all times?__ He thought.

Truth be told, he hadn't forgotten those words. Even though he did trust Sora more so than he trusted that kid—primarily because he didn't know who that kid was or why he would tell him such things about Sora—it was odd that his instincts were telling him to trust that masked kid's words.  
It was weird.

"Something on your mind, Yuya?" Kazuki asked in concern.

"It's nothing," Yuya assured his brother while shoving those thoughts out of his mind and focusing his attention back on his friend's duel, though not before noticing the faint glow that was emanating from Kazuki's pendant for some reason but he dismissed it as a trick of the light.

"Let's go, Yuzu, you're dazzling today!" Shuzo shouted while the three kids continued to cheer.

 **. . .**

"And there's that Fusion Summon," Kenshin said, one hand resting on the garnet pendant that hung around his neck. He had no idea why it was glowing slightly but he didn't want to draw anyone's attention to it so he just kept his hand around it.

Yuto's lips were pressed together as he watched the duel. "She's using it to get strong enough to protect her school. I hope that it doesn't come back to bite her later," he said.

"Yeah, me too." Kenshin didn't say it out loud but he was also wondering how Shun was reacting to the proof of what Yuto told him being played out before his eyes. He had no doubt his other best friend was watching the duel and to find out the girl he'd mistook for Ruri using the summoning method that he hated the most might be hard for him, even if it simply brought back bad memories.

Like it did with Kenshin, especially in regards to the last Academia duelist he had come across while he'd still been in Heartland.

 **. . .**

"Since Opera was sent to the Cemetery as a Fusion Material for a Fusion Summon, I activate its effect, which prevents Melodious monsters I control from being destroyed by battle or by card effect for the rest of the turn. I also activate Schubert's effect! I can target up to three cards in either player's Cemetery, banish them, and increase the Attack of Schubert by 200 for each one. I banish Gem-Knight Fusion, Gem-Knight Crystal, and Gem-Knight Emerald," Yuzu declared and grinned as Schubert glowed as her power increased (2400-3000) while Master Dia got a little weaker due to losing some Gem- monsters in the Cemetery (3200-3000).

"And since I control a Melodious monster, I can Special Summon Sonata the Melodious Diva in Attack Position through her own effect," Yuzu added and a pale-yellowish-green-skinned girl with green hair dressed in a blue dress with a blue lined green harp on her back appeared on the field (3/1200/1000). "When Sonata is Special Summoned, all Angel-Type monsters I control gain 500 Attack and Defense while she's on the field."

Sonata began singing as she and Schubert had their power increased (Sonata: 1200-1700/1000-1500) (Schubert: 3000-3500/2000-2500).

"Battle! Schubert, attack Master Dia! _Wave of the Great!_ " Yuzu ordered and, with a wave of her baton, Schubert unleashed a cyclone of musical notes that crashed into Master Dia and destroyed it while Masumi, jumping off the bridge to land on the one only a few feet beneath them.

 ** **Yuzu: 4000 | Masumi: 3500****

"I activate Brilliant Spark! Since a Gem-Knight monster I controlled was destroyed, I can target it and inflict damage to you equal to that target's original Attack and I choose Master Dia!" Masumi said.

Yuzu darted away from the railing and snagged the Action Card that she saw resting nearby. She bit her lip upon realizing that it wouldn't help her, but it would help her reload her hand at least. The blast of energy crashed into her and, with a yelp, she was sent flying off her feet.

 ** **Yuzu: 1100 | Masumi: 3500****

"Action Magic! Damage Draw! Since I took 2000 or more damage, I can draw two cards," Yuzu said and drew two cards before pointing to Sonata. "Sonata, attack Masumi directly."

Masumi darted away and snatched an Action Card that was resting on the railing. "Action Magic, Evasion! I negate the attack."

Yuzu nodded. "I set three cards and end my turn," she said and three facedowns appeared at her feet.

"My move! I draw!" Masumi drew and inclined her head. "You are doing well and did surprise me with your Fusion Summon but I will show you the true power of Fusion Summoning! I activate Brilliant Fusion! With this, I can Fusion Summon a Gem-Knight Fusion monster using monsters in my Deck as Materials!"

"What? From your deck?" Yuzu gasped in shock.

"However, the Fusion monster's Attack and Defense will be reduced to zero, unless I send a Magic Card from my hand to the Cemetery. But, for now, I fuse Gem-Knight Garnet, Gem-Knight Tourmaline, and Gem-Knight Lazuli from my Deck!" Masumi declared and, as the aforementioned monsters appeared and were swallowed by the spinning vortex, the black-haired girl chanted, " _Gem tinged with fire! Gem tinged with lightning! Mysterious green gem! In a whirlpool of light, combine to bring forth a new dazzling radiance! Fusion Summon! This is my true ace! Dazzling lady, Gem-Knight Lady Brilliant Dia!_ "

A tall warrior woman clad in tan armor with crystal spikes on her shoulders and a red cape around her shoulders appeared on the field (10/3400-0/2000-0).

"And since Lazuli was sent to the Cemetery by a card effect, I can target and add one Normal monster from my Cemetery to my hand. I choose Gem-Knight Garnet and then I'll Normal Summon him," Masumi added and a red rock warrior with a flaming fist appeared on the field (4/1900/0).

"I activate Lady Brilliant Dia's effect," the Gem-Knight duelist added. "I can send Garnet to my Cemetery to Special Summon one Gem-Knight Fusion Monster from my Extra Deck, ignoring its summoning conditions. I Special Summon Lady Lapis Lazuli!"

Another Fusion Monster appeared on the field. She was a tall woman made of pale-blue rock and dressed in a gold-accented dark-blue dress with an over skirt that fanned out around her waist and long, wide sleeves and a dark-blue headdress that resembled bangs with a silver portion that hung down her back like hair and two longer strands of dark blue framing her face (5/2400/1000).

"I activate Lady Lapis Lazuli's effect, sending Gem-Knight Lazuli from my Deck to my Cemetery to inflict 500 Damage to you for each Special Summoned monster on the field!" Masumi said with a grin. "This is it!"

"Not yet!" Yuzu declared. "I activate my facedown, Caesura! When I would take damage, since I control a Melodious monster, I gain Life Points equal to the damage I would have taken instead!"

A sweet melody played and Yuzu smiled as her Life Points increased.

 ** **Yuzu: 3100 | Masumi: 3500****

Masumi huffed. "I suppose it would have been a disappointment if you lost that quickly. I activate Lazuli's effect, since it was sent to the Cemetery by a card effect, I can add one Normal Monster in my Cemetery back to my hand. I choose Garnet."

She then darted off and Yuzu, remembering what Masumi said about Brilliant Fusion's effect, immediately darted after her. She couldn't let Masumi get an Action Card.

"I activate my facedown! Melodious Song of Divine Punishment! This inflicts 800 damage to you for each Melodious monster I control and I currently control two," Yuzu said, revealing her facedown and a blast of bright blue energy crashed into the ground in front of Masumi.

Masumi just turned and grabbed the railing, jumping into it and then jumping onto the bridge down below, grabbing an Action Card that was resting on the column supporting both bridges. Yuzu, who was darting toward where the Action Card Masumi had been aiming for, grabbed it and watched as Masumi landed and barrel-rolled to her feet.

 ** **Yuzu: 3100 | Masumi: 1900****

"I send the Action Card Evasion from my hand to the Cemetery to restore Lady Brilliant Dia's stats to normal!" Masumi said, sending the Action Card she'd grabbed to her Cemetery and Lady Brilliant Dia began to glow (0-3400/0-2000).

"Battle! Lady Lapis Lazuli, attack Sonata!" Masumi ordered and Lady Lapis Lazuli unleashed a blast of blue energy that crashed into Sonata and destroyed her.

 ** **Yuzu: 2400 | Masumi: 1900****

"Lady Brilliant Dia, attack Schubert!"

Lady Brilliant Dia jumped forward and cleaved Schubert in two while Yuzu was knocked off her feet by the aftershock of the attack.

 ** **Yuzu: 2000 | Masumi: 1900****

"I activate Brilliant Spark's effect, discarding Garnet to add it back to my hand and then I set a card and end my turn."

 _ _The card she set has to be Brilliant Spark__ _,_ Yuzu thought as she said, "Since it's the End Phase, I activate my facedown, Encore Performance, to target one Melodious monster in my Cemetery that was destroyed this turn and Special Summon it! I Special Summon Meisterin Schubert the Melodious Maestra in Attack Position."

Schubert returned to the field (6/2400/2000).

"And it's my turn now," Yuzu declared and drew a card before adding, "I activate Schubert's effect and banish Gem-Knight Master Dia, Gem-Knight Garnet, and Gem-Knight Tourmaline from your Cemetery to increase Schubert's attack by 200 for each."

Schubert glowed as her power increased (2400-3000).

"Battle! Schubert, attack Lady Lapis Lazuli! Wave of the Great!" Yuzu ordered and Schubert waved her wand, unleashing a blast of wind that crashed into Lady Lapis Lazuli, destroying her.

 ** **Yuzu: 2000 | Masumi: 1300****

"I activate Brilliant Spark and target Lady Lapis Lazuli to deal you damage equal to her original Attack!" Masumi declared.

"I'm not losing this match that easily! Action Magic, Acceleration! I make the effect damage zero," Yuzu said, inserting the Action Card she'd grabbed earlier.

Masumi huffed.

"I set a card and end my turn," Yuzu added and a vertical facedown appeared at her feet. During the End Phase, Brilliant Dia's Attack and Defense went down to zero as per Brilliant Fusion's effect (3400-0/2000-0).

"My turn! I draw!" Masumi drew a card.

Yuzu darted away, noticing that Masumi was also heading toward an Action Card.

"I won't let you stop me! I summon Crystal Rose!" Masumi declared and a crystalline rose appeared on the field (2/500/500). "Crystal Rose's effect. I can send Gem-Knight Lapis from my Deck to my Cemetery to have Crystal Rose be treated as Gem-Knight Lapis until the end of my turn. Next, I activate Lady Brilliant Dia's effect, sending Crystal Rose being treated as Lapis to the Cemetery to Special Summon my second Lady Lapis Lazuli in Attack Position."

A copy of the blue rock monster from earlier appeared on the field (5/2400/1000).

"Next, I activate the second effect of Crystal Rose. I banish Lady Lapis Lazuli from my Cemetery in order to Special Summon Crystal Rose in Defense Position," Masumi added.

"I won't let you! Reverse card, open! Counterpoint! Since you Special Summoned a monster from your Extra Deck this turn, I can target one Level 4 or lower monster in your Cemetery and Special Summon it to my side of the field in Defense Position. I choose Crystal Rose."

"What?! You took my Crystal Rose!" Masumi gasped as Crystal Rose appeared on Yuzu's side of the field (2/500/500).

She gritted her teeth and added, "You were quite lucky that I Fusion Summoned this turn."

"It wasn't luck. I know you have pride as a Fusion user. I suspected you would want to try and win with a Fusion monster," Yuzu explained.

"Even so, I'm still not done. I activate Lady Lapis Lazuli's effect, sending Lazuli from my deck to the Cemetery to inflict 500 damage to you for each Special Summoned monster on the field, which is four, which means this is over," Masumi said.

"You've been saying that a lot but I will say the same thing that I said all the other times you said that. I'm not out of this yet! I banish Caesura and Serenade the Melodious Diva to activate Caesura's second effect, halving all damage that I take this turn!" Yuzu declared and winced as the blast of blue energy struck her and sent her flying off her feet again.

 ** **Yuzu: 1000 | Masumi: 1300****

"I activate Lazuli's effect again, adding Gem-Knight Lapis to my hand," Masumi added before she darted off.

Yuzu darted forward but skidded to a halt to avoid running into Lady Lapis Lazuli who had jumped in front of her.

Masumi grabbed an Action Card. "I send the Action Card Miracle to the Cemetery to restore Lady Brilliant Dia's stats to normal," she said and Lady Brilliant Dia began glowing (0-3400/0-2000).

"Battle! Lady Brilliant Dia, attack Schubert!"

Masumi ordered and the knight shot forward and cleaved Schubert in two once again while Yuzu yelped as she was sent skidding backwards.

 ** **Yuzu: 800 | Masumi: 1300****

"Lady Lapis Lazuli, destroy Crystal Rose," Masumi ordered.

"Due to Counterpoint's effect, Crystal Rose cannot be destroyed by battle this turn," Yuzu said.

Masumi huffed. "Well, I suppose you've survived by the skin of your teeth. I activate Brilliant Spark's effect, discarding Lapis to add it back to my hand. Then I set a card and end my turn," she said. "Let's see if you can prove to me that you can do something aside from pointlessly struggling."

"I plan to," Yuzu said firmly and rested her fingers on her duel disk. __All this time, I have been trying to get stronger and so have Yuya and Kazuki. We may have gone different routes to grow stronger but we have reached a higher level then where we were then. I will become even stronger for my friends and that is my resolve!__ "I draw!"

She glanced at her card and grinned before turning to Masumi. "I will show you my radiance right now! But first, I activate Melodious Shift! I discard Elegy the Melodious Diva to draw two cards!" She did so before adding, "And now I summon Soprano the Melodious Songstress!"

A tall, slender woman in a purple and orange top with a white flowing skirt and pale-blue skin appeared on the screen (4/1400/1400).

"Next, I activate Crystal Rose's effect and send Prodigy Mozart the Melodious Maestra from my deck to the Cemetery," Yuzu went on, making Masumi grimace as light rays shot out of Crystal Rose, refracting into Mozart.

"Now for Soprano's effect! I can perform a Fusion Summon using monsters on my field as materials. I now fuse Soprano the Melodious Songstress with Crystal Rose being treated as Prodigy Mozart!" Yuzu declared and, as the two jumped into the vortex of blues and oranges, she chanted, " _Angel's song! Supreme genius! By the guidance of the baton, gather your power! Fusion Summon! Now come here to the stage! Sing the song of victory! Bloom Diva the Melodious Floral Saint!_ "

A flower bud materialized on the field and bloomed to reveal a young pale-skinned girl in a light blue dress that faded into darker blue. She had purple ribbons wrapping around her arms and thick bluish-purple hair that stuck into the air in curls and bright, pupilless blue eyes (6/1000/2000).

Masumi darted away but Yuzu, knowing what she was aiming for, inserted a card into her duel disk. "I enter my Battle Phase and activate Anti-Magic Arrows! Now, for the rest of this turn, Magic and Trap Cards and their effects cannot be activated!"

Masumi swore as glowing arrows rained down from the sky, blocking her path.

"Battle! Bloom Diva, attack Lady Brilliant Dia!" Yuzu ordered.

"Are you crazy? Bloom Diva doesn't have enough Attack," Masumi protested.

"Bloom Diva can't be destroyed by battle or card effects and I also take no battle damage from attacks involving her," the pink-haired girl explained.

"Then why even bother attacking?" wondered Masumi as Bloom Diva and Lady Brilliant Dia's battle seemingly ended in a stalemate.

A smile formed on Yuzu's lips. "Because due to her other effect, after she battles a Special Summoned monster, you take damage equal to the difference between their original Attack Points and your monster is destroyed. _Reflect Shout!_ "

Bloom Diva sang a sonic wave that shot across the field and crashed into Lady Brilliant Diamond. She exploded and the resulting explosion sent Masumi, with a cry, flying into the air.

 ** **Yuzu: 800 W | Masumi: 0****

Yuzu gasped before shouting to her monster. "Bloom Diva!"

Bloom Diva shot forward and caught Masumi who turned to Yuzu in surprise.

Yuzu just smiled and nodded at her.

Masumi looked away, her cheeks burning red.

"And there you have it! Your winner is Hiiragi Yuzu!" Nico declared and Yuzu smiled and waved at the crowd as everyone began to cheer. She'd done it. She won.

 **. . .**

As the next duel began, Yuya met Yuzu in the tunnel leading away from the arena with the kids, Gongenzaka, the overly emotional Shuzo, Yoko, Kazuki, and Sora. Yuya could see the happiness shining on her face and couldn't help but smile. He was really proud of Yuzu. She had certainly dazzled everyone during that duel.

"Congrats, Big Sis Yuzu!" Ayu, Futoshi, and Tatsuya exclaimed as they all nearly tackled Yuzu to the ground.

Yuzu laughed but hugged them back.

"That was awesome! Congrats on your win, Yuzu," Yuya said.

"Well done, apprentice," Sora said with a grin around the lollipop in his mouth.

Yuzu beamed. "It was thanks to your teachings, Teacher, so thank you and you too, Kazuki," she said.

Kazuki smiled shyly. "You're welcome, Yuzu."

"Yuzu!" A shout sounded and Yuzu turned, surprised when Masumi joined them.

Masumi folded her arms across her chest. "You better not lose the tournament. I won't be able to handle losing to someone who didn't win." She released her side and dug into her pocket before removing a card and holding it out to Yuzu. "Take it."

Yuzu took it, her eyes widening in surprise. "Crystal Rose?"

"You'll need it to shine like you did in our duel today. I won't forgive you if you lose," Masumi said before she turned and walked away.

Yuzu waved at her. "Thank you! I'll be sure to shine brighter!" she shouted.

Yuya smiled. _ _I really think she will. She certainly did today__ _._

 **. . .**

The following day found Kazuki jogging down the street after Yuzu and the other You Show students. The first match of the second day was about to begin and Kazuki was both eager to see how Gongenzaka did and anxious because of Ankokuji. The former member of the Gongenzaka Dojo had been one of Kazuki and Yuya's prime bullies in the months after their father disappeared and Kazuki didn't have good memories of that young man.

Ankokuji made Yuya's and Kazuki's lives miserable in those few months after Sakaki Yushou's disappearance. It was thanks to Yuzu's constant support and Gongenzaka always being there to step in and put an end to the bullying and the humiliation it brought that Kazuki and Yuya were, slowly, able to overcome it.

Not entirely, no. But then the memories would always be there. The scars would always remain. At least, with Kazuki, the scars still remained and had been the reason why it had taken so long for him to come out of his shell. He was sure that if it hadn't been for his brother, Yuzu, and Gongenzaka, he probably would have never opened up enough to actually participate in this tournament.

"Kazuki? You're spacing out again," Sora said, bringing Kazuki out of his thoughts.

"Sorry," Kazuki automatically apologized.

"What's up?" Yuzu wondered, concerned.

"Just thinking about Ankokuji," Kazuki admitted. "He doesn't seem to have changed much, at least from what I saw while we were waiting for Yuya yesterday."

Yuzu huffed. "I don't like him," she said. "But we don't have to worry. Gongenzaka is going to beat him. He's gotten really strong as a duelist recently."

Kazuki nodded in agreement. It seemed as if everyone had grown stronger as a duelist in recent weeks.

"By the way, where's Yuya? I thought he was with you," Yuzu added.

"He went on ahead while I was still getting ready. He should be waiting for us at the stadium," the white-haired duelist replied as the group rounded a corner and jogged the remaining yards to the entrance to the stadium.

Inside, the place was filled with last-minute people who were hurrying to get to their seats before the duel began. As Kazuki scanned the group of latecomers, he frowned because he couldn't see his brother among any of them.

"He's not here," Yuzu said, puzzled. "Where could he be?"

"Are you sure he left before you?" Sora asked.

"I'm sure," Kazuki said. "Mom said that Yuya had already left by the time I'd come down for breakfast. He should already be here."

"Wait, I see him! Why's he running?" Tatsuya said, pointing, and Kazuki, Yuzu, and Sora turned to find Yuya was running past the windows outside the building.

"I don't know," Kazuki said.

"Should someone go after him?" Ayu asked.

"Maybe he just forgot something or is looking for us or something." Sora shrugged and turned to gaze at the television screen as Nico welcomed the audience to the second day of the tournament. "The duel's about to begin so we should get to our seats."

"We can call him if he's not back in fifteen minutes," Kazuki suggested.

Yuzu nodded and the group made their way into the stadium. As they walked, Kazuki glanced over his shoulder at where he saw his brother running off and his brow furrowed. _ _Just why are you running?__ he thought.

He, Yuzu, Sora, and the three kids took their seats, just in time to watch the Action Field Solitary Cove in a Faraway Sea activate, leaving Gongenzaka—who was proudly wearing a new black sash around his chest—and Ankokuji standing across from each other surrounded by a dense forest.

The duel started off with Ankokuji bringing out two Battleguard monsters—Barbarian #3 and Barbarian #4—that made Kazuki think of Strong Ishijima since he'd used monsters from the same archetype. Ankokuji has always been a big fan of Strong Ishijima, since Kazuki and Yuya were little, and that didn't seem to have changed all that much. He was curious to see what the bully had up is sleeve; even if he didn't particularly like Ankokuji, he was always interested in seeing how a duelist dueled, especially in a tournament match where everyone was expected to be at their best.

"That's it for me. It's your turn. You'd better hurry up or your friend is going to be beaten to a pulp," Ankokuji said with a sneer as he ended his turn with a set card.

Gongenzaka went on the attack almost as soon as his turn began, by bring out Superheavy Samurai Big Benkei in his first turn while Kazuki frowned to himself.

 _ _What does Ankokuji mean by that? Is he talking about Yuya?__ He knew that he was jumping to conclusions but, at the same time, he could recall just how Ankokuji treated him and his brother not long after their father's disappearance, and how Gongenzaka had to step in several times to prevent the bullying from getting worse. If anyone would cause Gongenzaka to worry then it would be Yuya, even though Yuya was far stronger now than he was when they were little.

However, just to put his mind at ease—since he could be wrong and Ankokuji either wasn't talking about Yuya or was just saying something like that to play mind games with Gongenzaka—Kazuki pulled out his duel disk. He dialed his brother's number as he watched Gongenzaka bring out the Tuner monster Superheavy Samurai Horaga-E. But when Gongenzaka went to Synchro Summon, Ankokuji activated his Trap that allowed him to take control of Horaga-E.

As Ankokuji taunted Gongenzaka, reminding him of how duels weren't just fought on the field and that anything could be happening outside of the field at that moment, Kazuki listened to the ring of the duel disk.

"Who knows what could be happening to your beloved friend?" Ankokuji taunted.

Gongenzaka uttered Yuya's name, causing Yuzu to gasp and making Kazuki's brow furrow in worry. __So my suspicions were right. Yuya, answer__ _,_ he thought.

"I'm calling him now," he said to Yuzu.

"Okay." Yuzu looked a bit relieved at that but Kazuki knew that she wouldn't let go of her worry until she knew that Yuya was really safe.

He was the same way.

There was a click, then " _Kazuki?_ " Yuya's breathless voice said.

"Yuya, are you all right?" Kazuki asked urgently.

" _I'm fine, Kazuki,_ " Yuya said, sounding puzzled. It was clear he was taken aback by Kazuki's worry. It cleared up as he added, " _By the way, I know I'm missing Gongenzaka's duel so let him know that I will be there soon and I will definitely get his sash back! I've gotta go. It's my turn._ " Yuya hung up before Kazuki could question what he meant by that.

 _ _His turn? Is Yuya dueling?__ Kazuki thought as he lowered his duel disk.

Yuzu glanced at him. "What did he say?"

Kazuki explained what his brother said to him and Yuzu frowned. "Gongenzaka's sash?"

"That's what he said."

"Is he dueling?"

"I'm assuming so."

Just then, as Gongenzaka's attack with Big Benkei was blocked by Barbarian #4's effect, he slammed his first into the ground and cursed. The look of panic on his face coupled with what Ankokuji said earlier clicked together and Kazuki scowled. "That is low," he said.

"What is?"

"Ankokuji. Remember what he said earlier? I think he, or maybe some lackeys of his, was the one that caused Yuya to leave, likely by taking Gongenzaka's sash. Naturally, Yuya is going to go retrieve it, and that's probably how Yuya ended up in a duel. Ankokuji's lackeys probably challenged him to one and he had to participate in order to get that sash back," Kazuki explained since that was something Yuya would do and everyone knew it.

"And Gongenzaka's panicking because he doesn't know this or what's happened to Yuya," Yuzu realized before she jumped to her feet and shouted, "Gongenzaka! Believe in Yuya!"

Gongenzaka stopped and turned to face Yuzu who gazed at him with determination in her eyes. "Yuya told me to tell you that he'll definitely get your sash back so don't stop believing in him!" she shouted.

Kazuki stood up as well. "Yuya is not the same person he was all those years ago. He is capable of fighting on his own," he called. "He will definitely come back and just in time to watch you win!"

"Ha! You're saying that he's going to win? You're clearly as deluded as you are weak, Sakaki Kazuki!" Ankokuji shot back.

Kazuki didn't back down and let that insult slide right off him. The fact that he was capable of doing that showed that he'd changed since then as well; back then, whenever he was insulted, he would always get upset by it. That was also a reason why he didn't really interact with people aside from his brother, Yuzu, and Gongenzaka, because he hadn't wanted to deal with the insults that he knew he would be on the receiving end of. He hide away from them, avoided them, but he wasn't going to do that anymore. He was not going to let Ankokuji's insults get to him anymore.

"I am not the same person I was three years ago, either," he said, keeping his voice level. "Call me what you wish but I believe in Gongenzaka and I know my brother believes in him as well."

"Yuzu...Kazuki..." Gongenzaka's teeth set in determination and he stood up. "Yes, they are right. Yuya is no longer a weakling, and neither is Kazuki for that matter. Yuya will definitely come back; just as Yuzu and Kazuki said, Yuya is not the same as he was three years ago and can fight on his own. Now that I know my friend is safe, my spirit will waver no more! I will follow my own dueling ways!"

"Let's go, Gongenzaka! Be hot-blooded!" Shuzo shouted.

"He can't do anything but end his turn 'cause he's already attacked," Sora reminded him as Gongenzaka ended his turn.

Ankokuji slammed his foot into the ground, a sneer on his lips. "Believing in others? What a pathetically naive notion! People betray one another, just like your monster betrayed you. That's just the way of life!" he said coolly as he drew a card, starting off his turn.

Using the monsters on the field, he brought out a Level 10 monster known as Barbarian Mad Shaman, who scared the living daylights out of the kids, and made Kazuki raise an eyebrow.

"That monster's creepier than your Death-Toys, Sora," he mused.

Sora raised an eyebrow as well. "I can't tell. Was that a compliment?"

"Take it however you want."

Sora rolled his eyes, amusement in their green depths. "That's payback, isn't it?"

"Perhaps." Kazuki's lips quirked into a slight half-smile.

 **. . .**

Yuya let loose a breath as he tightened his grip on the white sash in his hands. It had taken a battle-royal style duel against three of Ankokuji's followers but Yuya was glad that not only had he gotten his friend's sash back but he also managed to get Ankokuji's followers to smile. It was always nice when he could make his audience smile and enjoy his duels, in spite of the circumstances surrounding the duel.

 _ _But I should get back. I've probably missed most of the duel__ _,_ he thought as he turned and darted down the street, weaving around a few trees and exiting the park. He hoped that Gongenzaka was doing all right; even though he knew that Gongenzaka was a strong duelist, and had only gotten stronger in recent weeks, duels were still very unpredictable. Anything could happen and anyone could turn things in their favor at any time.

That was one of the first things he'd been taught when his father taught him and Kazuki how to duel.

Yuya frowned as he ran and came to a stop, turning his head. It was odd but he had the oddest feeling that he was being watched. He scanned the area but there wasn't anyone around and he hummed to himself. "Must've imagined it," he said and began running again, picking up the pace in the hopes of getting back to the duel in time.

 **. . .**

"I think he noticed us," Kenshin said, turning his gaze from Yuto's lookalike to look at Yuto. They were both standing in the shadows of the nearby building right next to the park; they had both noticed the incident with Yuto's lookalike and those three people clad in dark blue and had been quick to move out of the way. Kenshin's idea of watching the next duel in the park, since it was better than standing in the middle of a sidewalk, had been why they'd been there to begin with.

Not only were they paying attention to Gongenzaka Noboru's duel but they had also been treated to a second duel that happened between Yuto's lookalike and those three people. The duel was enjoyable and brought back memories of Heartland before the invasion; Kenshin had no doubt that Yuto was thinking the same thing. It may have been far different from the duels that Kenshin and Yuto had seen before the invasion but it did still have that same carefree and fun nature to it that Kenshin could still remember.

"I think so as well. But he was clearly too focused on returning to the stadium," Yuto said and leaned against the wall. "Nothing is off about this duel, except for Ankokuji's rather underhanded tactic."

"Some people would do anything to fulfill their goals," Kenshin said, his thoughts drifted to Miyako and he scowled and shoved that particular memory out of his mind.

Yuto nodded mutely in agreement. They both knew that to be true all too well. Academia was like that. Every single duelist whom Kenshin, Yuto, and Shun had fought against were like that; when they weren't dueling those who were brave enough to fight back, they were just carding people no matter what. Whether they were men, women, elderly, children, whether they were duelists or not, it didn't matter to them so long as they could fulfill their goal.

Ankokuji wasn't as bad as Academia but it was clear he was one of those kinds of people and people like that were the ones that Kenshin detested the most.

"Gongenzaka has received a rather devastating amount of battle damage," Yuto noted. "He's down to his last 500 and that Shaman's monster effect is pretty powerful as well."

"Wonder how he's gonna get back from this," Kenshin mused as he refocused his attention on the duel.

 **. . .**

"Gongenzaka!"

At the sound of Yuya's voice, Yuzu let loose a sigh of relief and turned to find her friend standing at the top of the stairs with a smile on his face and Gongenzaka's white sash in his hands. She smiled, glad that Yuya was all right and had gotten Gongenzaka's sash back.

"Big Bro Yuya!" Ayu shouted along with the other two kids.

"You're finally here," Gongenzaka said with a smile.

"Sorry for the wait," Yuya called as he threw the sash over the heads of the people below him. It sailed across the air and Gongenzaka caught it easily before tying it around himself.

"I believed in Yuya and Yuya came! This is my sash of victory," Gongenzaka declared.

"Victory, you say? Ha! In case you have forgotten, I have control of your Big Benkei and even if you managed to summon a stronger monster, I can just swap Benkei out for that one. And you only have 500 Life Points left," Ankokuji said with a scoff. "Face it, Gongenzaka, you've lost."

"I have not lost yet," Gongenzaka declared as he slammed his foot into the ground and rested his fingers on his deck. "It is my turn! I draw!" He drew with enough force to conjure up a powerful wind that caused several branches to tremble.

"I summon the Tuner monster Superheavy Samurai Tama-C!" Gongenzaka said and a bronze and gold machine ball-like monster appeared on the field wielding a spear.

"You can't Synchro Summon with only one monster. What is that piece of fodder even good for?" Ankokuji scoffed.

"Tama-C can use a Machine-type monster on your field in order to Synchro Summon!" Gongenzaka declared.

"W...What? A Machine-type on my field?" Ankokuji repeated in shock.

"You can do that?" Yuzu breathed.

"Apparently, you can," Kazuki said in amazement.

Yuya joined them at that moment, slipping into a seat next to Kazuki and taking a few deep breaths. "Sorry I'm late," he said to his friends and brother.

"No worries. You're here, aren't you?" Sora said.

"And just in time to see Gongenzaka win," Kazuki added.

"I tune my Level 2 Tama-C with my Level 8 Big Benkei!" Gongenzaka declared. " _Raging deity, in unison with the soul of a thousand blades, come forth in a spiraling sandstorm! Synchro Summon! Now come before us! Level 10! Superheavy Koujin Susano-O!_ "

Out of the burst of light that erupted from within the tuning rings, a giant machine samurai monster appeared on the field, seated cross-legged in Defense Position with its giant broadsword's blade buried in the ground. It had 2400 Attack and 3800 Defense.

"I am not done, as I equip Susano-O with Superheavy Samurai Soulbuster Gauntlet! This increases Susano-O's Defense by 400," Gongenzaka said as his monster's Defense jumped up to 4200.

"Wait...does this mean…?" Ankokuji began. "It's like Big Benkei!"

"Exactly. It can attack while in Defense Position and using its Defense as its Attack. Battle! Susano-O, attack Barbarian Mad Shaman!"

"And Mad Shaman's Attack is zero!" Tatsuya exclaimed.

"He's got this won!" Ayu cheered, jumping to her feet with a wide grin on her face.

"I'm getting the shivers!" Futoshi exclaimed.

"Gongenzaka's gonna end this in one attack," Sora said.

"Way to be hot-blooded, Gongenzaka!" Shuzo shouted.

Susano-O shot forward and crashed its giant sword into Mad Shaman, cutting it into pieces. The resulting explosion was powerful enough that it sent Ankokuji flying as his Life Points fell to zero, ending the duel with Gongenzaka's win.

"And there you have it, everyone!" Nico shouted as the Action Field dematerialized, leaving behind the empty arena with only Gongenzaka and Ankokuji laying flat on his back toward the center of the arena. "The first Junior Youth winner of the day is Gongenzaka Noboru!"

Yuya stood up and jogged down the stairs to meet Gongenzaka who was leaving the arena. Yuzu, Kazuki, Sora, and the kids followed suit to give Gongenzaka their own congratulations.

Gongenzaka thanked them as Nico stood up and made the announcement of the next duel of the day.

"Our next duel shall be You Show Duel School's Sakaki Yuya versus Leo Duel School's Sawatari Shingo!"

"Well, I'm off then," Yuya said.

Kazuki patted his brother's shoulder. "Good luck, Yuya!"

"You'll be great," Yuzu added.

Yuya grinned at them and nodded before he turned and made his way into the arena for his first duel in the Maiami Championship Tournament.

 **. . .**

 **Next Time: Battle of the Pendulums! A White-Hot Rematch**

 **. . .**

 ** **Featured cards****  
 _Melodious Shift_  
Normal Spell  
Discard 1 "Melodious" monster; draw 2 cards. You can only activate 1 "Melodious Shift" per turn.

 _Caesura_  
Counter Trap  
When a card or effect is activated that would inflict damage to you: Make that effect damage to you 0. If you control a "Melodious" monster, you can gain LP equal to the damage you would have taken instead. During either player's turn, except the turn this card was sent to the Graveyard: You can banish this card and 1 "Melodious" monster from your Graveyard; halve all damage you take this turn. (You cannot halve the same damage twice with this effect.)

 _Counterpoint_  
Normal Trap  
Activate only if your opponent Special Summoned a monster from the Extra Deck this turn. Target 1 Level 4 or lower monster in your opponent's Graveyard; Special Summon it to your side of the field in Defense Position. It cannot be destroyed by battle this turn.

 _Encore Performance_  
Normal Trap  
Activate only during the End Phase. Target 1 "Melodious" monster that was destroyed and sent to your Graveyard this turn; Special Summon it. During either player's turn, if this card is in your Graveyard: You can banish this card from your Graveyard, then target 1 "Melodious" monster in your Graveyard that was destroyed by a card effect this turn; Special Summon it. You can only use this effect of "Encore Performance" once per turn.

 **. . .**


	10. Battle of the Pendulums!

****Thank you to**** ** _ **decode9, MagicalPrincess07,**_** ** **and**** ** _ **talesfanjmf**_** ** **for reviewing the last chapter.****

 ** **Once again, a huge thank you to EndlessNight025 for being an awesome beta-reader/co-author.****

 ** **Also, I may or may not post the second ARC-V story that I am working on soon, once I have finished the rewrite of Part I and come up with a decent title. So be on the lookout for that.****

 ** **So here is chapter 10 and, though there aren't any changes to the duel itself, I hope you enjoy it. Reviews, as always, are much appreciated.****

 ** **Turn 10****

 ** **Battle of the Pendulum! A White-Hot Rematch****

The energy in the stadium was as high as ever. The last match had been just as action-packed as the ones the day before, even if there hadn't been nearly as much movement. Shun mused that Gongenzaka Noboru's Steadfast style was unique in its own right and, yet, it also had an underlying strength to it, as shown in his duel against Ankokuji. Whether that strength would be enough to withstand Academia, Shun didn't know but Gongenzaka was definitely someone he would keep an eye on.

It seemed that all of the winners of the duels that had been shown so far had the potential to withstand Academia but Shun wasn't that surprised. Akaba Reiji did create the tournament for that very reason; only those who were strong could make it through to the end, and prove themselves useful on the battlefield.

"Our next duel shall be You Show Duel School's Sakaki Yuya versus Leo Duel School's Sawatari Shingo!" Smiley's voice said and Shun turned his gaze to the screen that showed the images of the two duelists and hummed to himself as he studied Sakaki Yuya's form. There was no denying that the boy did bear an unkindly resemblance to Yuto; as it was, the only differences that Shun saw were the boy's hair and eye color, and the smile that graced the boy's face.

A soft, genuinely happy smile.

Yuto used to smile like that too, so did Shun and Kenshin and Ruri and everyone at the Spade Branch and in all of Heartland. The smiles had been wiped from everyone's faces during the invasion and Shun had to wonder if the same would happen to this boy and the residents of Standard when Academia made their move on this dimension.

 _ _Not that I plan on letting Academia have their way. I will destroy them first__ _,_ Shun thought and folded his arms across his chest, his yellow-green eyes drifting from the two duelists who were making their way onto the field to the area of the stands where a certain cyan-haired boy had been sitting.

That boy had gone down with the rest of the people with him to congratulate Gongenzaka Noboru on his victory but had returned to his seat now that the next duel was about to begin. The boy, Shuinin Sora, cast a sidelong glance at Shun and a small, sly smirk crossed his lips.

Shun's lips pressed together. That boy had done the same thing during Hiiragi Yuzu's duel the day before; even if Shun hadn't already been suspicious of that kid, the sly smirks and dark, almost predatory looks Sora kept giving him whenever he saw him would have certainly caused warning bells to start ringing in Shun's head.

 _ _He's not even trying to hide his true self from me and yet so easily keeps it hidden from the fools around him. Either those people are completely blind or Shuinin Sora's facade is nearly without flaws and he's only showing me glimpses of his true self because he knows that there's really nothing I can do about it, not if I don't want to draw attention to myself__ _,_ Shun thought.

If he hadn't already been promised the chance to expose the Academia spy to everyone, and beat him down at the exact same time—and if he had actual proof that Shuinin Sora was that spy—then Shun might have thrown his deal with Akaba Reiji out the window and taken care of that cocky boy right then and there.

But, no, he had to wait until his duel against Sora later that day. Then, he would expose Sora for who the boy truly was; whether he was truly an Academia spy or not would be revealed during that duel and Shun was looking forward to tearing that mask off Shuinin Sora and exposing what truly lay beneath.

"Let's begin!" Smiley said as a card spun around in the sphere of cards before it settled upon one. "Action Field! Sunset Stronghold! Activate!"

The arena changed. As the ceiling darkened and purplish-red clouds gathered in the sky area, buildings made out of wood rose up from the ground, a tall pagoda rose up at one end of the field while Sakaki Yuya and Sawatari Shingo faced each other near the heart of the barren wasteland that dominated the rest of the field.

"Let's go!" Sawatari shouted. "Duelists locked in battle!"

"Kicking against the earth and dancing in the air alongside their monsters!" Yuya shouted back.

"They storm through the field!" The two duelists shouted at the exact same time.

"Behold! This is the newest and greatest evolution of Dueling! Action!" Smiley shouted.

"DUEL!" Yuya and Sawatari declared as they drew their starting hands and Action Cards rained down to the ground below them.

Shun had been observing the type of dueling that was used quite a bit in Maiami City, even before the tournament began. While he knew that the Standard Dimension had people who used all sorts of summoning methods, Action Duels were something unique to the Standard Dimension itself. They were duels in which duelist and monster could work together and implemented the usage of a new type of card known as Action Cards.

 _Action Cards…_ Cards that could turn a duel around in a heartbeat but, also, were random. There was no guarantee that the Action Card a duelist picked up during his duel could actually benefit him, which was why Shun knew that Action Cards were not something that one should rely on.

Even so, they were something that no one has ever seen or used before, and certainly something that Academia has never seen or used before.

As such, he mused that they could actually be used against Academia somehow.

He pushed that thought of his mind as he watched Yuya started off his turn by summoning Entermate Drumming Kong and reduce its Level by one before setting a card and ending his turn. No surprise that he was setting up his defense; that was one way of testing the waters, so to speak, with the opponent.

Not that it lasted that long against Sawatari. Sawatari activated a Continuous Magic known as Yokai Shrine of Trials and then proceeded to summon three Yosenju monsters in one turn.

 _ _Swarming technique__ _,_ Shun thought.

"Being able to summon multiple monsters at once isn't unique to Pendulum Summoning," Sawatari said as three counters were added to Yokai Shrine of Trials and then used Yosenju Kamaitachi's effect to send Drumming Kong back to Yuya's hand and went to attack Yuya directly with the same monster.

"He's not out of this yet," Shun murmured, his eyes training on the set card and, sure enough, Yuya used the set card—Entermate Pinch Helper—to negate the direct attack and Special Summon Entermate Kaleido Scorpion. Even so, Sawatari was still able to inflict damage by using Yosenju Kamanitachi's effect to halve its attack and have it attack his opponent directly.

Yuya went for an Action Card but wasn't able to get one and the result of the attack not only knocked Yuya down to 3100 but also sent him flying off a bridge and into an empty moat.

Shun hummed, watching as Sawatari used Yosenju Kamamitachi's effect; since another Yosenju inflicted Battle Damage, he could add a Yosenju cad from his deck to his hand. He ended his turn with a set card and then his monsters vanished in a whirlwind.

"My turn," Yuya said and drew a card. He grinned brightly and held two cards in his hand. "It's here! With the Scale 1 Stargazer Magician and the Scale 8 Timegazer Magician, I set the Pendulum Scale!"

 _So this is the Pendulum Summoning that Akaba Reiji has been talking about,_ Shun thought, watching as two columns of blue light emerged onto the field on either side of Yuya; in the one on the left was a blue-and-white clad magician with the cursive number 1 beneath it while, in the one on the right, was a black-and-gold clad magician with a cursive number 8 beneath it.

"With this, I can simultaneously summon monsters from Level 2 to 7! Sway, Pendulum of the Soul! Draw an arc of light across the ether! Pendulum Summon! Come forth, my monsters!" Yuya placed two cards on his duel disk as he added, "Entermate Drumming Kong and, with its radiant dual-colored eyes, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"

The ape-like monster from before and a red bipedal dragon with a white breastplate and dichromatic eyes appeared on the field.

 _ _Even so, I don't think Sawatari is stupid enough to leave his field wide open without having some sort of plan,__ Shun thought.

Sure enough, Sawatari did have a plan. When Yuya declared a direct attack, Sawatari used the effect of Yosenju Oyamabiko to discard a Yosenju monster from his hand to Special Summon Oyamabiko to his field; Oyamabiko's attack was also the same as the original attack of the monster it battled. The Shrine of Trials also gained another counter while Sawatari asked if Yuya was still going to go through with his attack.

Yuya did, and activated Drumming Kong's effect to increase Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon's Attack to 3100. "And when my monster battles a Level 5 or higher monster, the battle damage is doubled! Reaction Force!" Yuya declared and the flames that Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon released was engulfed by a spiral of dark red flames that crashed into Oyamabiko and obliterated it while also throwing Sawatari off his feet and sending him skidding backwards across the field and dropping his Life Points to 2800.

"That one must have hurt," Smiley said.

Sawatari activated Oyamabiko's effect to add another one to his hand.

Yuya, clearly seeing that it would be pointless to attack since Sawatari would just summon another Oyamabiko, ended his turn and began jogging down the moat.

Shun leaned against the wall, his sharp eyes watching the duel intensely.

 **. . .**

Kazuki frowned as he noticed the move that Sawatari had just made. Instead of bouncing Odd-Eyes back to Yuya's hand, as one would expect, he instead attacked Yuya directly with Yosenju Kamanitachi's effect. Yuya's attempt to avoid the battle damage failed as he was blown into the ground while the Action Card was blown out of the wall by the wind conjured up by Kamanitachi. Yuya was down to 2200 Life Points.

Sawataru then used the effect of Yosenju Kamamitachi to add a Yosenju card from his Deck to his hand because another Yosenju monster he controlled dealt battle damage to Yuya.

"I see. He did that in order to add a specific card to his hand," Sora said.

When Nico revealed that the card Sawatari added to his hand was a Pendulum card, Kazuki found that he wasn't really that surprised. Sawatari had said that he was going to get his hands on Pendulum Cards basically as soon as he possibly could.

Not long after that, Sawatari used the effect of Shrine of Trials and removed three counters to add a Yonseju monster from his Deck to his hand, revealing it to be another Pendulum monster. He set the scale with the Scale 3 Yosenju Sarenshinchu and the Scale 5 Yosenju Urenshinchu and Kazuki watched as the blonde boy used Urenshinchu's Pendulum effect to change its scale from 5 to 11. He also Pendulum Summoned a powerful giant weasel formed out of green wind who stood at 3000 Attack known as Mayosenju Daibakaze.

"That is a powerful monster," Sora commented.

"And that is definitely going to be a difficult monster for Yuya to beat," Yuzu said.

Shuzo glanced at Yoko. The two adults were seated in the stands above where the You Show student were sitting. "We knew that this would happen sooner or later but I wasn't expecting it to be quite this soon," he said.

Yoko hummed in agreement but said nothing.

Sawatari was grinning broadly. "Cheer more! This is getting exciting, isn't it?! The fun has just begun!" he exclaimed.

"Hey, that's Big Bro Yuya's line!" Ayu shouted in protest.

"Yuya says it better," Kazuki said with a small half-smile at Ayu who grinned in response.

"That's true."

"I've truly been chosen by my cards. And I don't just have Pendulum Summoning! I'm going to go beyond that. I activate Daibakaze's effect! When he's Special Summoned, I can return two cards on the field to their owner's hand! I choose Stargazer and Timegazer Magician!" Sawatari declared, pointing at Yuya's two Pendulum monsters. "But that's not all I'm doing! I also activate the Continuous Trap Dizzying Winds of Yosen Village! So long as I control Daibakaze, any card that isn't a Yosenju and is returned to the hand by a card effect is shuffled into the Deck instead!"

Kazuki frowned as he realized the kind of limit that placed on Pendulum monsters. They'd learned during Yuya's duel against Sora that Pendulum monsters went to the Extra Deck when they were destroyed, or returned to the hand, and they could be Pendulum Summoned again but if they were returned to the deck then that couldn't happen.

"He sealed Yuya's Pendulum Summoning," Sora realized just as Nico explained that to the audience.

"Yuya..." Yuzu murmured.

"I also pay 800 Life Points to activate Yosen Whirlwind and then I end my turn. As per their effects, my three Yonseju monsters return to my hand," Sawatari said as his Life Points dropped to 2000. He retrieved the three cards before grinning broadly and adding, "Now bear witness to my legendary combo! Yosen Lost Tornado! Thanks to Yosen Whirlwind's effect, anytime a Yonseju card returns to my hand, I can return one of your cards to your hand for each one. On top of that, Dizzying Winds of Yosen Village's effect activates! Since I returned three Yosenju monsters to my hand, I can return your three monsters back to your hand!"

Twin tornadoes shot across the field and blew Yuya's Trap card as well as Kaleido Scorpion and Drumming Kong back into his hand before Dizzying Winds of Yosen Village's effect forced Yuya to shuffle those cards back into his deck.

"Only Odd-Eyes is left now!" Gongenzaka gasped.

"I have this odd feeling that's not going to last long," Kazuki murmured.

Sawatari laughed. "I'll be having Odd-Eyes leave the stage as well! Daibakaze also returns to my hand at the end of my turn because it was Special Summoned! Yosen Lost Tornado! Bye-bye Odd-Eyes!" he said as a tornado crashed into Odd-Eyes, throwing it off the field and Yuya shuffled it back into his deck.

"His field's bare now," Sora said as the Pendulum scale of Urenshinchu reverted back to normal. "And he only has one card in his hand."

"My turn," Yuya said quietly but, as Kazuki listened to Shuzo, Gongenzaka, and the kids shout out encouragements, he noticed the smile on Yuya's lips. It was clear that, in spite of the predicament that he was caught, he wasn't upset with it. In fact, he was happy and looked excited.

"Wait, Yuya's smiling," Yuzu realized.

"What?" Ayu said and, when she noticed the smile that dominated Yuya's lips, she smiled. "He doesn't look upset at all."

"He's excited," Kazuki said. "And it's clear that he's enjoying every minute of this duel in spite of the tight spot he's been placed in."

"It's time we settle this once and for all," Sawatari declared.

Yuya laughed, the smile on his lips growing brighter as his eyes shone with excitement. "The duel has only just begun! I draw!" He drew a card and then set both cards in his hand before ending his turn.

"What? He ended his turn just like that?" Yuzu said in surprise.

"I don't think there's much he could do," Sora reasoned.

"I went out of my way to hype things up only for you to do something so boring. How lame," Sawatari said in mock disappointment. "But I guess that's all you can do with no Pendulum Summons and an empty hand.

Yuya chuckled as he darted off and jumped onto the wall. "If I don't have any cards then I'll just have to look for some," he said and darted off, heading toward the decrepit pagoda that lay on the other side of the barren wasteland.

"Yuya!" Yuzu gasped.

"It'll be fine. Yuya's eyes are still full of strength," Gongenzaka said.

"You've got this, Big Bro," Kazuki said with a nod while Yuzu thought about Gongenzaka's words for a moment and then smiled.

"The fun has only just begun!" Yuya declared loud enough for everyone to hear.

Ayu giggled. "You're right, Kazuki. It does sound better when Big Bro Yuya says it."

 **. . .**

"This is actually getting really intense," Kenshin noted as he swung his legs beneath the tree branch he was sitting on, since he'd gotten tired of standing. Yuto had just given him an exasperated look but said nothing because it was somewhat refreshing to see Kenshin acting a little bit like his old self, like the person he'd been before Academia's invasion had scarred him and caused him to change into a war-hardened duelist who struggled to survive every day.

"It is," he agreed and turned his gray gaze back to the duel his lookalike was taking place in. There was no denying that Yuya's style of dueling was unlike any other style that Yuto has seen before but he rather enjoyed it and not just because it brought back pleasant memories. No matter the scars that dominated his heart from the invasion, the times when he could remember the good times, while few and far in between, were times that he cherished.

He never wanted to forget the good times because he felt that would be losing a part of who he was and Academia would succeed in taking even more from him than they already have. They had already taken his home and many of his comrades from him; Yuto refused to allow their actions to take away his happy memories as well.

So Yuya's dueling certainly helped in that aspect because it reminded him of those happy times and allowed him to hold on to those happy memories in a small corner of his mind.

He watched as Sawatari brought back Daibakaze and used its effect to send Yuya's set cards back to his hand, and then to his deck because of Dizzying Winds of Yosen Village's effect, leaving Yuya's field absolutely devoid of anything.

"He's wide open now," Yuto murmured.

"And yet he doesn't seem worried," Kenshin noted, pointing at Yuya who'd somersaulted out of a hole in the pagoda's roof to land on top of it.

Yuya held up a card. "That's fine because Amnesia's effect activates when it's removed from the field and changes the name of all of your cards to Amnesia!" he said.

"Clever. Yosen Whirlwind and Dizzying Winds of Yosen Village don't affect Yosenju monsters or cards but if Sawatari's cards aren't treated as Yosenju anymore then they are subjected to those two cards effects just as much as Yuya's cards," Yuto realized.

"Meaning they'll get shuffled back into Sawatari's deck when he ends his turn," Kenshin said. "Your lookalike's a pretty good duelist."

"He has a name," Yuto said dryly.

"I know."

Sawatari, jumping onto Daibakaze's back, started his Battle Phase and declared a direct attack from all of his monsters. Yuto knew that if those attacks landed, the duel was over. He watched, his lips curved into a small frown, as Daibakaze and the other three Yosenju monsters destroyed the gate to the stronghold and leapt into the air, intending on striking Yuya with all of their attacks at once.

Yuya slipped his goggles over his eyes. "I won't let this duel end here!" he declared and backflipped off the roof, disappearing into the hole he'd jumped out of earlier.

"It's the end!" Sawatari shouted as Daibakaze unleashed a tornado that spiraled into and through the building, ripping through the foundations and causing the building to collapse, conjuring up a giant burst of dust and debris that flew in all directions.

Kenshin winced. "I keep forgetting that Real Solid Vision exists in this dimension and that was real. I hope he's okay."

"As do I," Yuto said.

Thankfully, the crimson-and-green-haired boy was fine, surprising everyone when he appeared on top of a nearby building with the spotlight shining on him. He looked fine and his smile remained on his face.

"Those attacks should have landed! I should have won," Sawatari protested, sounding upset but also puzzled.

"Did you think I was running around without a plan?" Yuya asked as he held up a card and the camera zoomed in to reveal to those watching at home that the card as the Action Card Big Escape. "This ended the Battle Phase before your attacks hit, which means this duel is still on." He gave the crowd a bow.

Sawatari scowled. "You're not the one who's supposed to excite the crowd," he complained.

"I still don't like Sawatari," Yuto said.

"You're not the only one," Kenshin agreed.

"This is my dueling style," Yuya said.

"I'll be the one who gets the cheers in the end! I activate Shrine of Trials's effect and remove three Yosen Counters to add a Yosenju card from my Deck to my hand." He did so before ending his turn.

"Now that your turn's over, I kindly ask your monsters to leave the stage," Yuya said.

Daibakaze disappeared in a whirlwind of green light, lowering Sawatari back to the ground before his other three Yosenju monsters also vanished in a cyclone of wind. They were then shuffled into his deck and Yosen Whilwind shattered.

"Yosen Whirlwind is destroyed during my End Phase since a Yosenju monster didn't return to my hand. Also, Urenshinchu's Pendulum Scale returns to normal," Sawatari added.

"Both of our fields look a bit lonely, don't you think?" Yuya noted.

Sawatari grinned. "Oh don't worry. I'll be making my field lively again as soon as my next turn comes around, during the main event where you will taste defeat," he declared.

"I don't plan on losing, either," Yuya said as he removed his goggles from around his eyes and rested them on his head. "I draw!" He drew a card and proceeded to Special Summon Entermate Drumming Kong from his hand by reducing its Level by one.

"He can do damage with this attack but doesn't Sawatari still have that Oyam card he added to his hand earlier?" Kenshin said, looking down at Yuto who nodded.

"He does. He never used it. So long as he has the cost needed to use that card, he can avoid damage," Yuto said. "Unless Yuya has something up his sleeve, that is, because I don't think he's forgotten about that."

"Battle! Drumming Kong, attack Sawatari directly!" Yuya ordered as he hopped onto Drumming Kong's back and the giant clownish ape began to bang its fists on its chest, preparing to attack.

"I discard a Yosenju monster in order to Special Summon Yosenju Oyamabiko in Attack Mode!" Sawatari said and another candle in the Shrine of Trials lit up as he added, "Not only does Shrine of Trials get another counter but Oyamabiko's attack becomes the original attack of the monster it battles. It'll be a draw, like last time."

"Don't think I've forgotten about your monster's effect," Yuya said. "I activate Drumming Kong's effect! When a monster I control battles, I can increase its Attack by 600 until the end of the Battle Phase!"

"Thus making it more than Oyamabiko's. Not only does he keep his monster but he also deals damage at the same time," Yuto said, watching as the shockwaves conjured up by Drumming Kong banging his chest crashed into Oyamabiko and destroyed it while the shockwave sent Sawatari skidding backwards and knocked his Life Points down to 1400.

Yuya hopped off Drumming Kong's back as he ended his turn. It wasn't as if he had a choice; his hand was empty so there wasn't much he could do.

Sawatari began his turn and used Shrine of Trials to add Mayosenju Daibakaze back to his hand. He didn't raise the scale to summon out Mayosenju Daibakaze though as he had earlier and Yuto hummed, watching as Sawatari Pendulum Summoned Yosenju Kamaitachi and Yosenju Kamamitachi instead.

Yuya darted off, heading toward a bridge as Sawatari used Kamaitachi's effect to send Drumming Kong back to Yuya's hand. Kamaitachi let loose a series of razor wind blades but Yuya snagged an Action Card just in time.

"Action Magic! Invisibility! I make Drumming Kong immune to your card effects this turn," Yuya said as he inserted the card he'd just grabbed.

"Don't disappear like that!" Sawatari whined.

 _ _Yes, there is a reason why I feel only contempt for Sawatari Shingo__ _,_ Yuto thought with a grimace.

Even so, Sawatari was, at least, a decent duelist, in spite of his attitude. And there was no denying that the audience were excited about the duel, if their cheers and excited flurry of comments being caught on the camera were anything to go by.

Those two's actions were turning their duel into a show that was definitely entertaining the audience, and Yuto and Kenshin.

Kenshin jumped down from the tree branch. "I am really curious to see who'll end up winning 'cause I can't even begin to guess who's going to win," he said as, on screen, Sawatari Advance Summoned Daibakaze.

"I believe that is part of the reason why the audience is so excited. They don't know where this duel is going or who will win," Yuto said. "So much like Heartland..."

"Yeah, especially during Heartland's own duel tournaments," Kenshin said with a sad smile.

"Maiami City is reminding me quite a bit of Heartland before everything went to hell," Yuto said.

Kenshin nodded in agreement and folded his arms across his chest. "I wish it could last for them but, considering Academia's goal, this peace isn't going to last for much longer," he said. "I hope that this dimension gets, at least, some head's up beforehand, but I doubt it."

"Why are you smiling? Don't you realize you're about to lose?" Sawatari said before Yuto could respond to his friend's words and he turned to find that the camera was focusing on both duelists again, close enough that Yuto could see the smile on Yuya's face and the puzzled expression on Sawatari's.

"I'm excited. And it's not just me, the audience is excited as well! Our unpredictable show is getting the crowd really hyped up. I've found a new possibility and that's why I can't help but enjoy this," Yuya said.

Sawatari snorted but smiled. "I can't help but enjoy it either because I'll get to crush you in front of everyone here!"

Yuya's smile widened but he shook his head. "There is still more to come in our show," he said.

"No, we've reached the climax! Battle! Daibakaze, attack Drumming Kong!" Sawatari declared.

"I activate Drumming Kong's effect again and increase his Attack by 600!" Yuya said and Drumming Kong's Attack Points jumped up to 2200. It wasn't enough to withstand the cyclone of green winds that surged across the field to crash into it but, at least, the damage had been lessened, dropping Yuya to 1400.

"I end my turn. And, since Daibakaze was Advance Summoned, it gets to remain on the field," Sawatari said.

The crowd was getting antsy as they waited for Yuya to start his turn.

"Pendulum! Pendulum! Pendulum!" various members of the audience began chanting, their voices echoing throughout the stadium.

"The entire stadium is cheering on our duel. It's your turn, Sakaki Yuya, you'd better answer them," Sawatari said.

Yuya's smile widened.

Yuto and Kenshin exchanged glances before they leaned against the tree behind them, intent on seeing just what Sakaki Yuya had up his sleeve.

 **. . .**

"Pendulum! Pendulum! Pendulum!" Yuya smiled as he listened to the cheers of the audience that was still going on after Sawatari's words. He was pleased to see that Sawatari was having just as much fun as he was while, at the same time, treating it like the competition that it was. There was no denying that the audience were really getting into the duel and there was no denying that they were waiting for him.

He had no cards in his hand nor on his field. Everything rested on the card that he drew; that card would be the deciding factor of into which direction the duel was going to go.

A spotlight shone down on Yuya as he spread his arms and gazed around at the audience. "Ladies and Gentlemen!" he declared and gestured to his field as he added, "As you can see, my field is completely absent of Set cards as well as monsters. This next draw will be betting the entire stage on a Destiny Draw! If I manage to draw something, I would like you all to cheer! I draw!"

Yuya drew a card and grinned when he saw what it was. Magician's Card. "Right now, I will show you the most amazing magic show you'll see in this world! I activate the Magic Card Magician's Card!"

He inserted the card into his duel disk as he explained, "This can only be activated when I control no cards and have no cards in my hand, except this one. It allows me to draw as many cards as the number of cards my opponent controls. I then reveal them but, unfortunately, they'll all be banished at the end of my turn."  
Yuya turned to Sawatari. "Since Sawatari controls five cards, I can draw five cards," he said and drew five cards, turning them over to reveal them as Entermate Amenboat, Entermate Trump Witch, Timegazer Magician, Entermate Turn Toad, and, finally, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon.

Yuya held up Trump Witch and Timegazer Magician as he added, "With the Scale 4 Entermate Trump Witch and the Scale 8 Timegazer Magician, I set the Pendulum Scale!" Two columns of blue light, in which were the clownish witch and the black-and-gold clad magician with the cursive numbers 4 and 8 beneath them respectively, rose up on either side of Yuya.

"With this, I can simultaneously summon monsters from levels 5 to 7! Sway, Pendulum of the Soul! Draw an arc of light across the ether! Pendulum Summon! Come forth, my monsters! Entermate Drumming Kong and, with your heroic and dichromatic eyes, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"

Once both monsters were on the field, Yuya pointed to his ace monster. "Battle! Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, attack Mayosenju Daibakaze! Spiral Strike Burst!" he ordered as Odd-Eyes roared and charged down the path toward Sawatari's monster.

Sawatari laughed. "You don't have enough attack," he said.

"I activate Drumming Kong's effect and target Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, increasing his attack by 600!" Yuya declared and, as Odd-Eyes's attack rose up to 3100 and a blast of fiery energy began to gather in his maw, he added, "And when Odd-Eyes battles a Level 5 or higher monster, the battle damage is doubled! Reaction Force!" The blast of fiery energy that shot out of Odd-Eyes's jaws was engulfed by a spiraling flame of red as it shot across the field toward Daibakaze.

"I activate Yosenju Sarenshinchu's Pendulum Effect! I can destroy this monster in place of another Yosenju monster!" Sawatari said as Sarenshinchu exploded into dust as the fiery burst of energy shot through Daibakaze, leaving it unharmed, and the backlash sent Sawatari skidding backwards, reducing his Life to 1200.

The crowd continued to cheer and Yuya couldn't keep the smile off his lips when he heard their cheers. They were cheering for both of them and didn't seem to care who won. He could hear encouragements for both him and Sawatari being thrown toward them from the members of the audience.

"This is fun, isn't it?" Sawatari said.

"Oh it is. But the fun has only just begun," Yuya said with a wide grin and pointed to Trump Witch. "I activate Trump Witch's Pendulum Effect! Once per turn, I can perform a Fusion Summon using monsters on my field!"

"What? You can Fusion Summon during the Battle Phase?" Sawatari exclaimed as Trump Witch blast some black suit symbols out of her staff toward the two monsters on the field.

"I fuse Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon with Entermate Drumming Kong! Chest pounding sage of the forest! Become one with the dragon of mystery and form a new power! Fusion Summon! Come forth, ferocious dragon with luminous feral eyes! Beast-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"

With a roar, the gray-fur covered form of Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon emerged onto the field with beige armor covering its arms, legs, and chest and its dichromatic eyes shining.

Yuya darted toward Beast-Eyes and jumped onto its back as Beast-Eyes lifted its head and roared.

Yuya straightened up and grinned. "Battle! Beast-Eyes, attack Mayosenju Daibakaze! Hell Dive Burst!"

With another roar, Beast-Eyes charged across the field toward Daibakaze.

Sawatari darted forward while Yuya took a flying leap off Beast-Eyes back, both of them were aiming for Action Cards that were hidden under the roof tiles that had been shaken loose by Beast-Eyes's roar.

A burst of flames erupted from Beast-Eyes's maw while a tornado erupted from Daibakaze's horn. Both attacks crashed into each other right as Yuya and Sawatari sailed past each other, each snagging an action card, and smoke immediately filled the arena.

"Action Magic! Burning Barrel! This inflicts damage equal to half the Attack of a monster destroyed in battle to my opponent!" Sawatari shouted as he did a quick barrel roll on the ground and came to his feet, the Action Card already sliding into his duel disk.

Yuya, who'd landed on the roof, turned as a cylinder blasted a fireball toward him and he slid the Action Card into his duel disk. A tarp held by toonish hands appeared and caught the fireball before sending it flying into the air where it exploded like a firework in the sky.

"W...What?" Sawatari gasped in shock.

"Sakaki Yuya turned the damaging flame into a huge firework! Now that's truly entertainment!" Nico exclaimed.

"How?" Sawatari said finally.

"I activated the Action Magic Miracle to prevent my monster's destruction," Yuya said and, since his monster wasn't destroyed, Sawatari's Action Magic resolved without a target, saving Yuya from losing the duel.

"And I activate Beast-Eyes's effect," Yuya added as Beast-Eyes emerged from the smoke as the sole survivor of that last battle and prepared to unleash another powerful blast of fire. "When Beast-Eyes destroys a monster by battle, it can inflict damage to you equal to the Attack of its Beast-Type Fusion Material!"

"Drumming Kong had 1600 Attack..." Sawatari began.

"This is it!" Yuya declared as the blast of fiery energy crashed into Sawatari, knocking him off his feet and taking out the last of his Life Points.

"And the winner of the second match of today is Sakaki Yuya!" Nico shouted.

Yuya walked over to join Sawatari as the Action Field dematerialized and held out a hand, a smile on his lips.

Sawatari huffed and slapped the hand aside before pushing himself to his feet.

Cheers and clapping sounded and Yuya grinned as he gazed at the audience who were on their feet and either clapping or cheering.

"The crowd's still excited," he said with a laugh and he waved at the crowd while Sawatari, a small smile on his lips, bowed to the audience.

Sawatari then turned to Yuya. "I'll face you again anytime," he said.

Yuya smiled. "I will as well," he said and smiled as he gazed at the sky while Sawatari waved at the crowd.

 _ _A duel that everyone can enjoy. That's what you've always done and that's what I aspire to do. Did I do that today? Have I gotten closer to you, Dad?__ he thought.

 **. . .**

Shun pushed away from the wall and closed his eyes. He'd moved to the other side of the stadium as the duel drew to a close since he knew that his duel was going to be next.

He found himself thinking about the duel. The flashy entertainment style of Sakaki Yuya wasn't that suited for a war but, at the same time, there was no doubt that Sakaki Yuya was a decently strong duelist. And his dueling did remind Shun a little bit of Heartland before the invasion; he wondered if Yuto and Kenshin were watching this duel and if they felt the same way but decided that it didn't matter.

The Heartland he knew and loved was gone, ravaged by Academia's forces.

How long before Maiami City suffered the same, or similar, fate?

Shun pushed that thought out of his mind because he knew he had to focus. His duel was going to be coming up soon and he knew that he would have to work to prove whether Shuinin Sora was an Academia spy or not.

He listened to the crowd continue to fawn over the duel as well as commenting on the tournament itself. Many of them were talking about the Pendulum Summoning showcased in the last duel while a few were wondering about what else the tournament had in store.

"Now it is time for our third match of the day!" Nico declared and Shun opened his eyes and pushed away from the wall before turning and walking over to the mouth of the hallway he'd been standing in.  
"It will be You Show Duel School's Shuinin Sora versus Leo Duel School's Kurosaki Shun!"

Shun walked past the stands and into the arena, his face expressionless as he gazed at his opponent, at the boy who may be his enemy. The cyan-haired boy was happily waving at the audience and smiling but Shun didn't buy the smile for a second.

As he came to a stop, he found himself thinking about when Nakajima offered him a Pendulum card to use during his duel. He'd refused it; he was planning on winning this duel and exposing who Shuinin Sora truly was with his own strength.

 _ _Shuinin Sora, I don't know if you truly are from Academia or not__ _,_ he thought as he faced Sora who was still waving at the crowd and shouting at them to cheer him on as they did Yuya. __But I will expose you for who you truly are. Mark my words, you will not win this duel and I will rip your mask to shreds and show everyone here what truly lies beneath.__

 **. . .**

 **Next Time: A Vision of Destruction! The Ruined City of Heartland**

 **. . .**


	11. A Vision of Destruction

**Hello everyone! I'm back!**

 **Anyway, so this duel is just like it is in canon but I've included some original content and flashbacks so I hope it'll be more entertaining and not just a rehash of the episode.**

 **So thank you to _Guest, talesfanjmf,_ and _Fallen Angel_ for reviewing the last chapter. And thank you to everyone who just reads this story.**

 **I hope that you enjoy this chapter and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.**

 **Turn 11**

 ** **A Vision of Destruction! The Ruined City of Heartland****

Yuya watched as Kurosaki Shun and Sora walked toward each other, the former silent and expressionless while the latter was waving at the crowd and promising to entertain them like Yuya had done. Yuya found that he couldn't stop thinking about Kurosaki, about the boy that Yuzu said was behind the attacks and yet was now a member of LDS, and whom Masumi said had been part of LDS the entire time.

 _ _Were her memories altered somehow? Or what? I just don't get why she isn't reacting badly to Kurosaki when he was responsible for the disappearance of her teacher__ _,_ Yuya thought. That was what Yuzu and Kazuki told him and Yuya trusted them; he may not have been there when that truth was revealed but he still believed them.

Even so, he could only hope that Sora would be all right. He had warned Sora but the younger boy had just waved him off with a smile and a promise to make his duel as entertaining as Yuya's had been. Yuya wasn't entirely sure that he would be able to do that, given the stone cold expression on Kurosaki's face. He hoped that the duel would be lighthearted and fun though, as that was what dueling was supposed to be about after all.

"I'm worried about Sora," Kazuki said quietly. "I mean, after everything that's happened 'cause of that Kurosaki guy. So many people were attacked by him and I just don't get why they're still letting him in this tournament, and as a student of the very school he was attacking."

"It's like Masumi's memories were rewritten or something," Yuzu said quietly, her brow furrowed as she gazed at the arena.

Yuya thought about when he'd first seen Kurosaki duel. He'd been thrown into a wall by the summoning of a powerful Xyz Monster but he did know that he hadn't been the only one blown away in that summoning. Those kinds of shockwaves were the kind that normally appeared when a monster attacked or was summoned on an Action Field but there hadn't been an Action Field activated and Yuya had no idea how Kurosaki was able to conjure up tangible shockwaves outside of an Action Field.

He just hoped that Sora would take his warning to be careful seriously.

Thinking about the first time he saw Kurosaki duel, and with Sora on his mind, brought to mind those words that the strange masked kid had told him and he frowned to himself. __Why am I still clinging onto those words? I trust Sora certainly more than someone I don't even know the name of. He's my friend. Why am I doubting him?__ he thought and shook his head, his lips quirking into a small frown as he glanced from Sora to Kurosaki and back again.

"All right. Let's get this duel started! First, let's choose our Action Field," Nico said and the card within the sphere of cards finished turning to reveal the Action Field. "Action Field Future City Heartland, activate!"

The arena changed to reveal a pristine city with tall skyscrapers and various buildings all with a streamlined and aesthetically pleasing design. A tall tower topped with a large pink heart was situated at the center of the city with various colored lights shining into the air and onto the streets. Bridges and parks filled areas of the colorful city.

"Oh wow," Ayu breathed. "This place is beautiful."

"It's really nice," Tatsuya said. "Like something out of a sci-fi film."

Yuya gazed around the city before his crimson eyes landed on Kurosaki. Kurosaki was also looking around but Yuya could see the way he clenched his fists as if he was upset, or angered, by the area around him. He didn't know why the city would cause such a reaction in the Xyz user; the Action Field was really vibrant and colorful that conveyed a sense of fun.

"Not bad," Sora said as he gaze around. "I'd be happier if it was Sweets Island but what can you do? At least the audience likes it, right, Kurosaki?" He turned his green gaze to Kurosaki and noticed the same thing that Yuya did, the clenched fist and the anger that Kurosaki seemed to be trying to repress.

Sora raised an eyebrow. "Are you alright? Do you have a stomach ache or something? Are you really sure you'll be able to duel me?"

Kurosaki relaxed his fist and gave Sora a sharp look. "You should be more worried about yourself. If you are a true Fusion user then I will show you no mercy," he said coolly.

"Fusion user..." Kazuki murmured and glanced at Yuzu whose brow furrowed again and, lowering his voice so that only Yuzu and Yuya could hear him, he added, "Yuto said that his, Kenshin's, and Kurosaki's enemy was Fusion. Do you think Kurosaki thinks Sora's his enemy?"

"What do you mean that Fusion is their enemy?" Yuya said in puzzlement.

"I'll tell you what they told me later, Yuya," Kazuki assured him. "I don't know much about this though, only what they said. It's...just another puzzle piece added to the puzzle we're still trying to figure out."

"You're pretty interesting, you know that?" Sora's voice brought Yuya back to what was going on in the field down below.

"Let's talk about this later," Yuzu suggested as she also turned her blue gaze to the arena. "What little there is we can actually talk about, anyway."

Kazuki nodded in agreement.

Sora glanced at the crowd again. "My Entertainment Duel is about to begin! Cheer for me like you did Yuya!" he called and everyone cheered.

"We'll cheer as hard as we can, too!" Shuzo shouted.

"If you win then you can have all the pancakes that you want," Yoko called.

Yuya smiled a little bit and, deciding that he would worry about what Kazuki and Yuzu were talking about later, added his own encouragements. Right now, he had a friend to cheer on.

Yuzu and Kazuki added their own

encouragements and cheers as well.

"Go get him, Sora!" Ayu shouted.

"Make him shiver!" Futoshi shouted.

"Win this," Tatsuya encouraged.

"Let's rack up a fourth win for You Show," Shuzo said with excitement glistening in his eyes.

Sora waved at them again, a wide grin on his face. "I will! I will! I'll entertain everyone here," he said and faced Kurosaki again. "Let's get this duel underway! Duelists locked in battle..."

Kurosaki remained silent.

Sora huffed and pouted. "You're killing the mood, you know? It's called 'call-and-response'. I say 'marco', you say 'polo'. Don't you get that?"

Kurosaki stayed silent.

"Fine then. You're obviously a lost cause," Sora huffed in disappointment before he turned to the crowd. "Let's all do this together! Duelists locked in battle!"

"Kicking against the earth and dancing in the air alongside their monsters! They storm though this field!" Yuya, Kazuki, Yuzu, and the rest of the audience chanted in unison with each other.

"Behold. This is the newest and greatest evolution of Dueling!" Nico shouted. "ACTION..."

"DUEL!" Sora and Kurosaki declared in unison with each other as the Action Cards rained down on the pristine city.

"I have a feeling this duel is going to be an exciting one! Just how will it turn out?" Nico said with a grin.

Sora started off his turn by bringing out Furnimal Bear and then brought out two Furnimal Sheep in Defense Position.

The crowd, especially the girls and the children, seemed to adore the three adorable monsters on the field. Yuya knew, from experience, that they wouldn't remain that way for long but he still had to smile because, at least, everyone liked what they were seeing.

"I set a card and end my turn. It's your turn now. Why don't we both give the audience a great show?" Sora said as a facedown card appeared on his field and he chuckled.

"The greatest show?" Kurosaki echoed. "Once dueling was the greatest show in my homeland too. That's right...the greatest...Whether they were children or adults, everyone enjoyed it without a care. It was a town where duelists were adored by the public..."

 **. . .**

Shun remembered a time back when everything was still peaceful, Heartland was still vibrant, full of life, and filled with duels that everyone could enjoy. During a time when he still had his little sister and no one knew the horrors of war, he remembered one of the times he witnessed the show that a duel could become.

 _ _"Big Brother! C'mon, the duel's about to start!" Ruri, Shun's little sister, exclaimed in excitement as she tugged on Shun's hand, her long dark purple hair flying into her face from the stray breeze that drifted into the alleyway.__

 _ _"You don't have to pull me. I'm right behind," Shun said in faint amusement. "It's not like we're going to miss it. Kenshin's recording it, remember?"__

 _ _"I know but it's so much more fun to watch it in person," Ruri said with an excited gleam in her pink eyes. "Besides, I've been wanting to see Chris and Kaito duel for a while now."__

 _ _"They always duel."__

 _ _"But I never get to see it in person."__

 _ _"Alright, alright. You've made your point," Shun said in amusement before he and Ruri began to pick up the pace, weaving around the various citizens that were walking in the same direction as them. All of them were likely heading toward the duel; duels in Heartland were always common and duels between pro duelists always attracted the vast majority of Heartland's residents.__

 _ _They managed to make their way through the crowd in time to see Kaito get sent skidding backwards by a blast of energy from Chris's ace monster Canopy Star – Dyson Sphere as the monster in front of him shattered.__

 _ _"What'd we miss?" Ruri asked as she made her way over to join Yuto, Kenshin, and Chris's two younger brothers Thomas and Michael.__

 _ _"Kaito's getting his ass kicked," Kenshin said with a shrug while focusing the camcorder in his hand on Kaito before moving it to Chris.__

 _ _Yuto rolled his eyes. "He only lost twelve hundred Life Points."__

 _ _"Even so, Chris brought out his ace on his first turn. That's a pretty neat move," Kenshin said.__

 _ _Yuto smiled. "I will admit it was."__

 _ _"That's Chris, alright," Thomas said. "Showoff that he is."__

 _ _Michael laughed and nudged Thomas in the side. "This coming from you? Big Brother Thomas, you're the biggest showoff out of all of us, probably out of everyone at the Clover Branch," he teased.__

 _ _"Hey," Thomas whined and grabbed Michael in a headlock, giving him a noggie. "Take that back! I'm not a showoff! I'm just good at creaming everyone who challenges me to a duel."__

 _ _Michael, trying to break free from his elder brother's hold, snorted. "You haven't beat Chris, Big Brother Thomas," he pointed out.__

 _ _"Yet," Thomas shot back.__

 _ _Shun smiled at the interaction between the two brothers. While he never really interacted with the Arclights that much, since the younger brothers attended the Clover Branch with Kaito and Chris was already in the Pro Leagues, he did know about them and spoke with them on occasion. They were as close to each other as Shun was with Ruri.__

 _ _Ruri rolled her eyes as Michael fought to free himself from Thomas's grip while Thomas just laughed and kept on giving him noggies but her lips were curved into an amused smile.__

 _ _"Everyone is really getting into this duel," Yuto noted as the crowd began to grow excited when Kaito brought out his ace monster, Galaxy Eyes Cipher Dragon, and began his counterattack, even if Dyson Sphere couldn't be destroyed so long as it had Overlay Units.__

 _ _Ruri grinned. "So am I! This is what dueling's all about; the excitement, the fun, it's all one big show and I'm enjoying every minute of it!"__

 _ _"So am I," Kenshin said.__

 _ _Shun nodded in agreement.__

That wasn't the only time. That was just the first one that came to Shun's mind by Shuinin's words. It was likely because it was the last actual fun duel that Shun had witnessed before the invasion, the last duel that showcased dueling as a show used to entertain its audience.

The last duel he saw before everything went to hell.

 **. . .**

"What the heck is he going on about?" one audience member said.

"His Homeland? But he's part of LDS. Did he transfer or something?" another audience member asked.

It was clear that Kurosaki was talking partially to himself but Yuya also felt that he was speaking to the audience as well. He didn't know why Kurosaki was speaking to the audience about where he came from though, and why in the middle of his duel, at that.

"That's the way it was, until that day, the day our enemy attacked without warning and turned our home into a battlefield," Kurosaki added.

"What're you going on about?" Sora said, puzzled.

"Kurosaki isn't making any sense," Gongenzaka said.

Yuzu gasped. "Wait, Kurosaki had claimed that Maiami City was his battlefield. Remember, Kazuki?"

Kazuki nodded, his brow furrowing. "Yeah, I remember that. He just suddenly appeared in front of us and Masumi and challenged Masumi before his companions showed up. They got into an argument and Kurosaki made that claim."

"But what did he mean by that?" Yuya said with a frown. __Battlefield…__

"Man, I went through all the trouble of playing three cute monsters to liven up the match," Sora complained. "Gees, don't ruin it now. We should both give the audience the greatest show! If I go bo-boom then you go ba-bang or else it won't–"

"My turn." Kurosaki cut Sora off without emotion and drew a card, glancing at it, his lips pressed together. "Everything was thrown into a disarray by the sudden assaults. Just mounting a defense took all that we had."

"Are you even trying?" Sora said in irritation.

"I summon Raid Raptors – Vanishing Lanius," Kurosaki said, ignoring Sora as he brought out the green-and-blue falcon-like Winged Beast monster onto the field.

Yuya recognized it immediately as the monster he'd seen when he'd run into Kurosaki the first time.

Kurosaki had Vanishing Lanius attack Furnimal Bear, knocking the unshaken Sora down to 3900 Life Points.

Sora was quick to bring it back to his hand through use of Furnimal Crane that also allowed him to draw another card.

Kurosaki went on with his turn, using Raid Raptors - Symbol to add a Raid Raptors monster from his Deck to his hand before he Special Summoned another Vanishing Lanius in Defense Position, set a card, and ended his turn.

"This is an amazing match so far," Nico said. "This will leave hands sweating with excitement. Will the Goddess of Victory smile on Shuinin Sora or Kurosaki Shun?"

"Isn't it obvious? It will be the one who entertains the audience the most?" Sora said. "And I'll make sure everyone gets their fill."

And he certainly did by bringing Furnimal Bear back to his field and retrieving a specific Magic Card from his deck.

Fusion.

Kurosaki's reaction to that card—he went white with shock and slight anger—brought back Yuzu's words from earlier about Kurosaki seeing Fusion users as his enemy and Yuya frowned. __Be careful, Sora,__ he thought.

The lights darkened a bit and a spotlight suddenly shone down on Sora who spread his arms wide. He had moved forward so that he was standing at the top of a staircase. "Ladies and Gentlemen!" he declared.

Yuya's earlier worry faded and he let out a sigh of fond exasperation at Sora copying his catchphrase.

Yoko chuckled and glanced at Yuya. "Sora really does like you," she said.

Sora held up the Fusion card. "Everyone, you are about to see a real, full-fledged Fusion Summon," he said.

Kazuki tilted his head to the side. "Does that mean my Fusion Summon was fake?" he wondered, bewildered.

Yuya chuckled. "I'm pretty sure that's not what he meant, Kazuki," he said. He certainly didn't take any offense to that, even though he'd performed his own Fusion Summon during his duel against Sawatari.

"I fuse Edge Imp Scissors with Furnimal Bear!" Sora declared as he inserted the card into his duel disk and both Furnimal Bear and Edge Imp Scissors were swallowed by the vortex that appeared above Sora's head. "Claws of the demon! Fangs of the beast! Become one and reveal a new form! Fusion Summon! Show yourself, horrifying beast that shreds everything! Death-Toy Scissors Bear!"

With a growl, the pink horrifying bear with giant scissors jutting out of its gut and the glowing red eyes appeared on the field.

"What school? You Show Duel School!" Shuzo cheered.

"Shivers!" Futoshi exclaimed.

"Battle! Scissors Bear, attack Vanishing Lanius!" Sora ordered and Scissors Bear shot forward and slammed a punch into the falcon-like monster, sending it flying before it dissolved into pixels while Kurosaki used his duel disk to shield himself as the shockwave crashed into him, lowering his Life Points to 3100.

"He did it!" Futoshi cheered.

"He took out 900 in one shot," said Tatsuya.

"That's not all I did," Sora said. "Death-Toy Scissors Bear can equip the monster it destroys in battle."

"Oh yeah and his attack increases as well," Tatsuya remembered.

Kurosaki, however, simply activated his Trap Card, Raid Raptors - Return that allowed him to return the Raid Raptors monster that was destroyed in battle back to his hand.

"He took it back," Ayu gasped.

"To think he had something like that ready," Tatsuya said.

"As expected of LDS, should we say?" Gongenzaka said with much sarcasm.

Sora huffed but smiled. "Eh, it'd be boring if you couldn't do, at least, this much," he said. "I set a card and end my turn."

"It's as if they're one with their decks," Nico said. "They're trading blows as easily as if they were drawing breath. This match is going to be an amazing one and it certainly is already exciting at this point in the game."

Sora removed a lollipop from his pocket and unwrapped it. "That depends on you, Kurosaki, doesn't it?" he said. "You said you would show no mercy but you certainly aren't doing a good job. If you really want to show no mercy, maybe you can start trying now."

He tossed the lollipop into the air and caught it in his mouth as he added around a smile, "Is it that you're so focused on defending yourself that you can't fight back?" he said. There was a slight taunt in Sora's voice.

"At first, that was the case," Shun said while closing his eyes. "We could hardly manage to protect ourselves against such an overwhelming foe."

Sora's smile faded.

"Seriously, what is he talking about?" one audience member said.

"We didn't even have an organized resistance," Kurosaki went on. "Pushed to our wits' end, we started losing comrades one by one. Until we learned, through those battles, that the only way to survive was to win."

 **. . .**

Yuto remembered that all too well. Kurosaki's words brought to him the memory of what happened the day of the invasion, when he'd gotten separated from Kurosaki, Ruri, and the other survivors of the Spade Branch while he'd been trying to find Kenshin.

 _ _Yuto stepped back, facing the Academia duelist who was grinning at him with eyes alit with sadistic excitement and his duel disk activated in his hand. He was dressed in a red uniform that had the same design as the other attacking duelists.__

 _ _"So you're going to fight? Fine then. Once I win, it'll be all over for you," the Academia duelist said mockingly.__

 _ _Yuto gritted his teeth but held up his activated duel disk. It was the only way to defend himself and he knew that if he didn't defend himself then the Academia duelist would just turn him into a card, like he'd done those citizens Yuto had been too late to help.__

 _ _Winning the duel was, surprisingly, not that hard. The Academia duelist was all talk and Yuto was able to end it within only a few turns with Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon. However, not long after he defeated that duelist, another one came to take his place, forcing Yuto back on the offensive.__

 _ _This went on and on and Yuto was tired by the time he defeated his fifth opponent. However, the more duelists he defeated, the more chances he got to get away—since he knew that they would keep coming—but he knew that he would run out of energy if he kept that up.__

But what else am I supposed to do? These guys won't let up _,_ _ _he thought as he darted away from his most recently defeated opponent and had to dive to the side to avoid the rubble when an explosion in a nearby building sent pieces of stone and glass flying toward him.__

 _ _He scrambled to his feet and gazed around, gritting his teeth at the rubble that lay scattered around him. His once vibrant and colorful hometown had turned into little more than a husk filled with charred buildings, shattered glass, and pieces of stone while giant monsters attacked the buildings that were still standing and Academia duelists carded those who were unfortunate enough to be in their way.__

 _ _"Yuto!" a shout sounded and Yuto turned to find Kenshin jogging toward him, looking just as tired as he did. His duel disk was activated and his eyes were hard but also filled with a quiet grief that told Yuto that something bad had happened.__

 _ _"Kenshin..." Yuto began.__

 _ _Kenshin shook his head, wiping the tears that had appeared in his eyes away. "Are Ruri and Shun okay?" he asked. "And Sayaka and Allen and all the others?"__

 _ _"They were fine when I last saw them. I got separated from them while I was looking for you. Are you okay?" Yuto asked.__

 _ _"I..." Kenshin trailed off just as another building exploded. He shoved Yuto with enough force to send the purple-and-black-haired boy tumbling to the ground right as various large pieces of stone crashed into the ground where he'd been standing moments before.__

 _ _"Kenshin!" Yuto shouted, scrambling to his feet.__

 _ _"I'm okay," Kenshin called back and then swore as, through the smoke, Yuto watched as an Academia duelist jogged toward him and activated his duel disk. "Damn it! Another duelist just showed up. Yuto, go on ahead. I'll catch up once I deal with him."__

 _ _"Kenshin..." Yuto bit his lip, feeling the urge to remain and help his friend but, as he watched, Kenshin, on his first turn, brought out Empyrean Angel of Hope - Ramiel and Empyrean Angel of Miracles - Hamied and then Overlayed them.__

 _ _"Fallen star of the fiery Heavens! Bathe the land in the light of your eternal glow! Xyz Summon! Come forth, Rank 4! Lucifer, Fallen Dragon of Empyrean!" Kenshin shouted.__

 _ _Yuto smiled a little. Kenshin was going all out if he was bringing his ace out right off the bat.__

 _ _"Go on. Lucifer's got my back. I'll be fine," Kenshin reassured him.__

 _ _Yuto nodded. "Catch up as soon as you can and stay safe."__

 _ _"I will," Kenshin said.__

 _Thankfully, Kenshin had stayed safe and caught up but that didn't mean that they had been out of the woods. They still had to deal with quite a few of the enemy who tried to attack them while they were attempting to regroup with Shun and Ruri. They kept on fighting, they kept on winning, and they kept on moving in order to try to keep away from the enemy, since they both knew that they would need to find a place to rest or else they would end up collapsing from exhaustion._

 _That was what they had to do._

 _Fight. Win._

 _That was how they survived._

 _Fight. Win._

 _No matter how often they moved, it didn't seem to stop the Academia duelists. The enemy kept on going after them, hunting them as if they were simply prey to be caught and carded, and Yuto had lost count of just how many of his comrades, of the people he grew up with or saw on the streets or attended classes with, he'd lost as a result._

 _And they treated it like a hunting game. They smiled. They laughed. They treated it as if they were just playing a game without realizing, or caring, about the lives that they were taking and the homes that they were ruining._

 _It was sickening. Those horribly vicious smiles, those eyes that gleamed with enjoyment each time they carded someone. The lack of emotion, the lack of empathy; Yuto was sickened by it, sickened by the fact that Academia didn't care about who they were hurting and that they found enjoyment in such actions._

 _That sadism… It was hard to believe that teenagers that were around his age could act so callously and with so little regard for the lives that they were ruining._

 _No one knew what happened after someone got turned into a card. They just vanished and Yuto knew that the majority of the people who witnessed such a horrendous action believed the same thing that he did, that those who were turned into cards were given a fate that was worse than death._

Yuto closed his eyes and clenched his hands into fists.

" _Only those who bore a settled will to live would make it through that hell_ ," Shun said.

"Even though making it through that hell doesn't mean that it really left us," Kenshin said.

Yuto opened his eyes and turned to his friend, noticing the quiet grief that glittered in his friend's light-orange eyes. He placed a hand on Kenshin's arm before turning his gaze back to the screen. "No one made it out of that hell without scars," he said quietly.

 **. . .**

Kazuki listened to Kurosaki's words and pressed his lips together. He didn't know what Kurosaki was talking about but he could recall what Yuto and Kenshin had told him, about how they were fighting to protect their comrades, end the conflict, and create a world where no one had to be hurt again. Was their motivation, their goal, because of what Kurosaki was describing? Did their enemy who used Fusion Summoning really do what Kurosaki said they did?

Kazuki just didn't know. He wasn't getting any of this.

Upon hearing Kurosaki bring out three Vanishing Laniuses, the white-haired boy pulled himself out of his thoughts and turned back to the duel, watching as the spinning galaxy emerged onto the field and the three Vanishing Laniuses vanished into purple swirls that were swallowed by the galaxy.

"This is just like last time," Yuya gasped.

" _Obscured falcon, raise your sharpened talons in front of adversity, spread your wings of rebellion! Xyz Summon! Appear now! Rank 4! Raid Raptors - Rise Falcon!_ " Kurosaki chanted as, out of a burst of blue lightning, a teal and purple mechanical falcon emerged onto the field with a screech. However, most people commented on the fact that Rise Falcon only had 100 Attack Points.

"He's an Xyz user," Gongenzaka gasped.

"That's the same monster that took out an entire LDS Top Team in front of me," Yuya admitted.

"How did he do that with a monster with only 100 Attack?" Yuzu said in puzzlement.

Sora raised an eyebrow. "You have got to be kidding me," he said. "Is this really you getting serious?"

"Rise Falcon can attack all your Special Summoned monsters," Kurosaki said.

"So? It only has 100 Attack," Sora deadpanned, not looking the least bit impressed.

But, when Kurosaki revealed Rise Falcon's effect—using an Overlay unit, Rise Falcon gained Attack equal to the total Attack of all Special Summoned monsters that Sora controlled—Sora's face filled with worry. Rise Falcon's Attack jumped up to 2700.

"Battle!" Kurosaki shouted. "Rise Falcon, render and tear all of your enemies! Brave Claw Revolution!" With a screech, Rise Falcon rose into the air and dived downward toward Scissors Bear, violently ripping the bear's head off. The bear exploded and Sora, with a shout, was thrown backwards by the force of the explosion while his Life Points fell to 3400.

Kazuki winced as Sora crashed hard into the staircase. "Sora..." he said worriedly.

"What just happened?" Nico said numbly.

Sora struggled to push himself to his feet, his teeth gritted.

"I set two cards and end my turn. At this point, Rise Falcon's Attack returns to normal."

Sora wiped some dust off his check and grimaced. "Looks like you've something pretty interesting. Now you've done that, I will have to go all out for a bit," he said and jumped to his feet. "My turn! I draw!"

With the use of Edge Imp Saw's effect—allowing him to discard a Furnimal monster to draw two cards—and the effect of Fusion Conscription—letting him add Furnimal Lio to his hand—Sora had added quite a number of cards to his hand. He then turned to the audience and asked that the spotlight be focused only on him.

"The fun has just begun," he declared.

Yuya let out another sigh of fond exasperation.

"He really does like you," Yoko mused.

Sora went on to use the effect of Death-Toy Factory, banishing a Fusion card in his Cemetery to perform a Fusion Summon. He fused Edge Imp Saw with Furnimal Lio, chanting, "Steel blades possessed by demons! Become one with the fanged beast and reveal a new form! Fusion Summon! Show yourself! King of beasts that tears everything to pieces! Death-Toy Wheel Saw Lio!" and a lion standing upright with a wheeling saw twisting around its face laughed madly as it appeared on the field.

"Sora's monsters look like they come straight out of a nightmare. I feel sorry for those kids," Kazuki said, noticing a few scared kids who'd started crying in terror at the appearance of Wheel Saw Lio.

Kurosaki didn't waste any time in darting off.

Sora mocked him, asking if he was scared, but Kurosaki just jumped up and grabbed Rise Falcon's talon as it flew down above him. It then swooped into the air with a screech.

"I activate Wheel Saw Lio' effect. I can destroy one monster that you control and inflict damage to you equal to its Attack!" Sora declared at Wheel Saw Lio let loose the six blades that made up most of its mane and they shot after Kurosaki as Rise Falcon dodged around buildings.

Kurosaki let go of Rise Falcon and dived downward, snatching an Action Card that was resting on a building. "Action Magic! Mirror Barrier! I negate your monster's effect since it would destroy a card!" he declared as Rise Falcon swooped under him and caught him while a sphere of mirrors morphed around him, blocking the blades while mirror slabs formed around Wheel Saw Lio in a makeshift cage.

"Even Kurosaki knows how to use Action Cards," Futoshi said.

"He wasn't just running away," Ayu realized.

"Lio, break your prison down!" Sora ordered and Wheel Saw Lio was more than happy to rip the makeshift cage to shreds. Kazuki wasn't sure he liked the destruction and Nico put his thoughts on that perfectly when he said that it was unnecessary.

Sora just said, "Cats don't like being out of the spotlight," and Kazuki was positive he heard a slight mocking edge to the cyan-haired boy's voice.

Wheel Saw Lio burst out of its cage and glared up at Rise Falcon.

"You did well trying to protect your monster with Action Cards but it's too bad. You can't run away from the king of beasts that tears everything to pieces. You're gonna take some big damage when your 100 Attack Rise Falcon gets taken out by Wheel Saw Lio, won't you?" Sora said and pointed. "Battle! Wheel Saw Lio, attack Rise Falcon!"

"I activate my Trap, Adversity!" Kurosaki said as he revealed his face-down. "When a monster I control is attacked by a monster with higher Attack, I take no damage, my monster is not destroyed, and its Attack is increased by 1000."

Lio crashed into Rise Falcon but all he succeeded in doing was pushing the falcon backwards while Kurosaki desperately clung on.

Sora gasped and then scowled. "Would you just let me destroy your monster already?" he exclaimed while stomping his feet. "Fine, I'll just take your monster out next turn! I end my turn!"

"Sora's usually so laid back," Yuya said quietly, a small frown on his lips. "Do I even really know Sora?"

"I've never seen him angry before," Yuzu said while Kazuki glanced at Yuya, having heard his whispered words and the doubt and uncertainty in his brother's voice.

"You'll be fine, Sora! Just keep your heart burning but your head cool! You only need fire in your heart," Shuzo shouted.

"Don't worry, guys," Sora said with a smile as he glanced at them. "I'm not really letting this get to me. I'm just having fun." He turned his attention back to Kurosaki as the other boy began his turn and drew a card.

He then used Rise Falcon's second Overlay unit to increase its Attack to 3500 before he attacked.

Sora blocked the attack by snagging the Action Card Evasion from a tree branch but Kurosaki countered again by activating Raptor's Storm, which let him negate the activation of Sora's Action Card and destroy it so long as he controlled a Raid Raptors monster.

Sora screamed as he was blasted backwards once again as Lio shattered and his Life Points fell to 2300.

"Sora!" Yuya, Yuzu, and Kazuki gasped.

"I set two cards and end my turn," Kurosaki said.

"Are you okay?" Yuya shouted to Sora.

Sora ignored him as he jumped to his feet again. "You're really getting on my nerves, having destroyed my monsters so many times," he snarled as he took out another lollipop. "No more Mr. Nice Guy. This time, I'm really going all out." He popped the candy into his mouth and started his turn by drawing a card.

Sora was quick to bring out another Fusion Monster, this time he fused Furnimal Sheep with Edge Imp Chain to bring out Death-Toy Chain Sheep. He managed to destroy Rise Falcon with Chain Sheep and lowered Kurosaki's Life Points to 2200.

Kurosaki, who'd been knocked off Rise Falcon as a result of the attack, was agile and able to right himself, use the building to slow his descent, and then roll across the ground to lower his momentum.

He stood up and dusted himself off as if he hadn't just fallen a pretty good distance before activating his Instant Magic Card—Rank-Up-Magic Raptor's Force—and used it to Special Summon Rise Falcon and rank it up to a Raid Raptors monster that was one Rank higher.

"What did you just say?" Sora exclaimed.

"Since Chain Sheep's effect of sealing Magic and Trap Cards only works during battle, this can work now," Kazuki realized. "He was waiting for this."

"Ferocious falcon! Break through this fierce battle and spread your wings, destroy our gathering foes! Rank-Up Xyz Change! Appear now! Rank 5! Raid Raptors - Blaze Falcon!" Kurosaki chanted as the Rank 5 Raid Raptors emerged from the flash of blue lightning and spread its wings while letting out a screech.

Sora suddenly laughed. "You're quite the entertainer and the audience is loving this," he said.

Kurosaki just glared at him.

"I'm so excited and having so much fun that I can't contain myself. I end my turn. Will you let me enjoy this even more?"

"Enjoy? What you will experience now is the agony of death and defeat! My turn!" Kurosaki drew a card. "I activate Blaze Falcon's effect! By detaching one Overlay Unit, I can destroy all Special Summoned monsters you control and inflict 500 damage to you for each one."

Blaze Falcon rose into the air and several red attachments emerged out of Blaze Falcon and began firing green laser beams at Chain Sheep.

"I activate Death-Toy Backup! This prevents my monsters destruction and increases its attack by 800," Sora said and a shield forms around Chain Sheep. The green lasers crashed into the shield and were redirected in all directions, crashing into buildings, bridges, lights, and streets. Some buildings were engulfed in flames and others fell into piles of rubble.

"A good reaction and just in time," Gongenzaka said.

"Look at what's happening to the city, though," Ayu whispered and Kazuki noticed that she, Tatsuya, and Futoshi looked scared.

"It's okay," Kazuki reassured the three kids and curled his arms around them in an attempt to comfort them.

"Blaze Falcon can attack you directly! Battle! Raptor's Break of Thunderclap!" Kurosaki ordered.

Sora darted off but Blaze Falcon's attack still landed. With a scream, Sora was sent flying into a building with enough force to leave a crater and cause the building to crack in half and begin to fall as his Life Points fell to 1300.

"Sora! Look out!" Yuya and Nico shouted.

Sora glanced up in shock and, with an agility that surprised everyone, he vaulted from one piece of debris to another and landed on the ground in front of the building as it crashed into the ground.

"When Blaze Falcon inflicts damage from a direct attack, it can destroy one of your monsters," Kurosaki added, unfazed by what just happened and Blaze Falcon unleashed several gas-powered missiles at Chain Sheep.

"I won't let you!" Sora darted off to the side and snatched up an Action Card, activating Mirror Barrier to defend his monster.

Kurosaki negated it using Raptor's Gust and destroyed it and Chain Sheep exploded along with the various missiles and obliterated more of the city.

"This...This isn't a duel," Yuya whispered, his eyes wide with horror.

"It's like a battlefield," Kazuki said quietly.

Kurosaki set the lone card in his hand and ended his turn. "Where did that grin of yours go?"

Sora clenched his fist.

"Do you see now what it means to be hunted?" Kurosaki demanded. "You and those bastards always laughed while they were attacking my comrades. But we are no longer helpless prey to be hunted."

 _ _Kurosaki's people were attacked by Sora's?__ Kazuki thought and frowned as he remembered Yuto's and Kenshin's words, about how their enemy captured their comrades but did that mean that Sora's people are the enemy that Yuto and Kenshin were referring to?

A feral smile crossed Sora's lips. "Aren't you getting a bit carried away? Don't joke about this. I can still win this while eating some candy," he said as he held up a large lollipop and bit it in half, chewing on the other half. He swallowed and added, "It's just a game. There's no need for you to get so serious. It's the same for my friends. We all hunted you and your people just for fun because you are just prey for our hunting games."

"Prey...game...do I really not know you at all?" Yuya whispered.

"My turn! I draw!" Sora shouted with an almost crazed look on his face. He activated Death-Toy Fusion and banished Furnimal Bear, Furnimal Leo, and Furnimal Sheep from his Cemetery in order to perform a Fusion Summon.

"Unusual plaything possessed by demons! Destroy and root out the plebeians who dare rebel against you! Fusion Summon! Come forth and appear! The chimeric fusion of all toys! Death-Toy Mad Chimera!"

A horrifying monster with three heads—Bear, Lio, and Sheep—that were as disturbingly creepy as all of Sora's other Fusion monsters appeared on the field.

Kazuki could feel the shroud of fear that fall over the crowd. He felt it himself. The monster was terrifying and the sheer power and madness it exuded was enough to send a chill down his spine.

Mad Chimera succeeded in destroying Blaze Falcon, knocking Kurosaki down to 400 Life Points, before its effect allowed it to take control of Blaze Falcon, increasing Mad Chimera's Attack by 300 due to its effect.

"Do you understand now?" Sora said with a mad laugh. "You can never hunt me. The ones that are hunted are always you and your comrades, now and forever more!"

Yuya was incredibly shaken and Kazuki moved to his brother's side, curling an arm around his shoulders. His brother didn't seem to know what to say and he began to rub the other boy's back in an attempt to calm him down.

"At least I'll give you the honor of finishing you off with your own monster! With a direct attack from Blaze Falcon, your Life Points will..." Sora began.

"Ridiculous," Kurosaki said.

"What?"

"The Resistance always fight prepared for the worst-case scenario," Kurosaki said calmly.

 **. . .**

"We are always prepared for such a time when one of our comrades might be captured or carded," Kenshin said.

"And we vowed that we would rescue our comrades from our enemy," Yuto said, both of them echoing almost exactly what Shun was saying on the big screen because both of them had joined the Resistance knowing that and still fought for that.

" _ _No matter what, we will always take back our comrades!__ " Shun declared with a fierce hatred in his eyes and he swept his arm across his duel disk, activating his set card. " _ _I activate my set card! The Instant Magic Card Rank-Up-Magic Revolution Force__ _!_ "

"He's really pulling out all the stops to win now that he's exposed Sora's true self," Kenshin said.

Yuto nodded.

" _ _With this, I can take control of an opponent's Xyz Monster and rank it up to a Raid Raptors monster that is one Rank higher!__ " Shun said coolly.

" _ _What?__ " Sora shouted as Blaze Falcon returned to Shun's side of the field and then vanished into the spinning galaxy.

Shun chanted, " _Prideful falcon. Spread your wings, dyed with the blood of heroes, and charge through the path of revolution! Rank-Up Xyz Change! Appear Now! Rank 6! Raid Raptors - Revolution Falcon!_ "

From the burst of blue lightning emerged a gray and blue falcon who spread its wings as it flew into the air with a screech.

Sora laughed. " _ _You're talking about revolutions and nonsense but what can you do with your monster who only has 2000 Attack? It won't be able to defeat Mad Chimera__ ," he taunted.

"He wouldn't be saying that if he knew Revolution Falcon's effect," Kenshin said. "So long as Sora doesn't manage to get his hands on one of those Action Cards, Shun's got this duel won."

"Sora does look a bit nervous," Yuto said as he listened to Sora telling Shun that he was bluffing because he had no cards in his hand.

Shun then revealed Revolution Falcon's effect; when it was Xyz Summoned by ranking up a Raid Raptors monster, Shun could destroy a Special Summoned monster that Sora controls and inflict damage equal to half its Attack.

Sora gasped out another " _What?!_ " before gritting his teeth and darting off, clearly looking for an Action Card while Revolution Falcon glided into the air and opened its bay doors.

" _Revolution Air Raid!_ " Shun shouted as bombs began to fall and crashed, exploding into the already devastated Action Field, one that strongly resembled what Heartland looked like now.

"It's hard watching this happen," Kenshin said. "Even though I know it's not real, it brings back the memories of what actually happened."

"Yeah. It's not pleasant but I know this wasn't Shun's intention," Yuto said.

 **. . .**

"Stop! This isn't dueling!" Yuya screamed, staring in horror as the bombs laid waste to the entire Action Field. "The dueling I believe in is supposed to make people happy!"

He was ignored, though his brother did tighten his grip on his shoulders. Yuya was grateful for it because he was still shaken by the duel, not just by how violent it was but also because of finding out what Sora was truly like and thinking about that masked boy's words.

 _ _I'd be wary about those you think are your friends.__

 _ _You should also not automatically trust someone without really getting to know them first. I learned that the hard way.__

 _ _I don't want to believe that I didn't know Sora at all. I know… I feel that how he acted around us was his true self but this… Is this his true self, too? Have I only been seeing one side of Sora this entire time?__ Yuya thought and bit his lip because he really wanted to believe that what he was seeing wasn't true but he couldn't deny it.

He watched as Death-Toy Mad Chimera was surrounded by flames while Sora darted through the city before diving for an Action Card. He was about to activate it but paused and froze when he saw the building that was starting to fall. It fell and crashed, with Sora still kneeling beneath it.

"Sora!" Yuya screamed.

"No!" Kazuki cried while Yuzu gasped in horror.

No matter what he'd just found out, no matter if he has only seen one side of Sora, that didn't change the fact that Sora was still his friend. Nothing was going to change that fact and Yuya found himself feeling worried for his friend's safety.

The Action Field dissolved, leaving a battered and bruised Sora with his Life Points at zero laying half-conscious on the ground.

"A...And the winner of this duel is Kurosaki Shun," a shaken Nico said but no one reacted, all of them too stunned by what they'd just witnessed.

Yuya bolted toward the security gate and Kazuki and Yuzu immediately darted after them. The security personnel held them back but Yuya still tried to break through, tried to get to his friend.

"Sora!" he shouted.

 **. . .**

 ** **Next Time: Resonating Dragons – Synchronized Memory****

 **. . .**


	12. Resonating Dragons - Synchronized Memory

****Time for Turn 12.****

 ** **Thank you to** ** _talesfanjmf, Fallen Angel, Queen of Peaceful Nights,_** **and** ** _MagicalPrincess07_** **for reviewing the last chapter. You guys are great.****

 ** **This chapter is another canon chapter but includes a lot of important information, especially regarding the K-Boys. It also introduces Kazuki's Synchro counterpart, briefly touches on Kazuki's Fusion counterpart, and, yes, the second half of the title is going to be explored as well, if only briefly.****

 ** **I hope that you enjoy this chapter and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.****

 ** **Turn 12****

 ** **Resonating Dragons – Synchronized Memory****

Kenshin leaned against the wall in an alley next to the LDS building where Shuinin Sora was being taken care of and marveled at how Yuto was able to sneak in when there was LDS security as well as Shuinin's four friends either patrolling the inside of the building or standing outside of it talking.

When Shuinin was defeated by Shun, LDS had been quick to transfer him to the medical center and he had been in there since then while Yuto had gone in only about fifteen minutes ago when the sun had just started to fall.

Kenshin had to wonder if Yuto was doing alright and wondered if he should have gone with him. Yuto had insisted that he was fine on his own but, oddly enough, Kenshin was having a bad feeling. He tried to insist that, maybe, they could interrogate Shuinin together and that might help get more information out of him but Yuto said no.

 _"_ _ _It would draw too much attention.__ _"_

Kenshin reluctantly admitted that Yuto was probably right. Not only did Yuto's chances of getting into the medical center without being noticed was increased when he went by himself but Kenshin wasn't exactly the most subtle of people. And two would attract a greater amount of attention than one.

Still, that bad feeling was refusing to go away.

Kenshin turned his light-orange gaze to the night sky above his head. "Why am I feeling this way?" he whispered, one hand going to the garnet pendant that hung around his neck and he toyed with it as he always had a tendency of doing whenever he was feeling worried. Maybe it was because it helped to calm him down, though he didn't know why.

 _ _Yuto...please be safe,__ he thought as he closed his eyes, one hand resting on his duel disk. He was ready to answer should Yuto call him and let him know that he was alright and heading out as he said he would. Or if he needed backup, as he said he would call if he needed that as well.

So far, he wasn't getting any of that.

Suddenly, alarms sounded and Kenshin started before turning and peering around the corner just in time to see LDS security running out of the building.

"Alert the President! Shuinin Sora has escaped!" one of the security men shouted.

Kenshin narrowed his eyes. __What happened?__ he thought but knew that he couldn't call Yuto. That would give away Yuto's position and Kenshin wasn't about to endanger his friend by revealing his location, wherever he was.

He didn't know where Yuto was but he knew of where he was heading. They had both agreed that if something happened and they had to separate then they would rendezvous at the stage at the park where they had watched the tournament matches the day before.

He rounded the corner but ducked back into the hallway just in time to avoid being seen by a few LDS security officers that were darting down the road. They were informing their companions that Shuinin Sora wasn't in their area before they kept on going.

 _ _The kid's probably long gone by now,__ Kenshin thought. __If he really is from Academia then I doubt he'd allow himself to stay captive. I wouldn't be surprised if he went back to the Fusion Dimension.__

Once he was sure that there was no one in the street, he darted down it. Thankfully, while the street was fully illuminated because of the various streetlamps, there was no one on the road so Kenshin was able to avoid running into anyone.

"Kenshin!"

Almost anyone.

Kenshin bit his lip as he glanced over his shoulder to find the source of the shout, the white-and-blue haired form of Kazuki. He let loose a breath and darted into an alley before turning to see that the boy had followed him. "Kazuki," he greeted.

"Did you see Sora run past here?" Kazuki said once he managed to get his breath back.

"No, nor do I care," Kenshin said.

"He's injured. He shouldn't even be out of bed since your comrade put him in the hospital," Kazuki said, narrowing his eyes. "Are you fine with that? With your comrade hurting someone again?"

"Shuinin Sora is an Academia spy," Kenshin replied bluntly. "And his words during his duel against Shun clearly convey that. He is the enemy. While I admit that Shun may have taken things a bit too far, I don't feel any sympathy for what happened to him."

"You told me that you don't want me and Yuzu or our friends to get hurt, but you're fine with Sora getting hurt? Isn't that hypocritical?" Kazuki demanded.

"Do you know how many people Sora's people have hurt? Do you know how many families have been torn apart? Do you know how many friends have lost friends because of Academia? Do you know how many lives were ruined because of Academia, because of the very school that Sora works for?"

"Academia?"

"That is the school that Sora is part of, that engaged in those hunting games that Sora mentioned in his duel. He wasn't joking, Kazuki. He was being dead serious when he talked about what he and his friends did. I saw it happen with my own eyes!" Kenshin snarled, his light-orange eyes flashing with rage. "You see me as a hypocrite because I happen to not care too much if one of my enemies gets hurt. Fine, I am one. Happy? But I don't give a damn because Academia doesn't deserve any sympathy."

Kazuki shivered at the sheer rage and hatred that echoed in Kenshin's voice while images of his family's last moments echoed in his head.

 _Get out of here!_

 _We'll hold them off._

 _Run! You have to live!_

All that devastation. Homes being destroyed. Men, women, and children being turned into cards. That dreaded purple light. Flames. Charred rubble. Crumbled buildings. Screams of horror. Screams of sadness. Laughter. Vicious grins.

Kenshin slammed his fist into the wall as tears streamed down his face as he fell to his knees, one hand clutching at his head.

"K...Kenshin?" Kazuki said worriedly.

Kenshin took a deep breath, trying to calm his pounding heart and push those memories aside. Those memories always came either in a nightmare, remembering what happened, or when he got angry enough that his anger called up the reasons for his anger.

"You're too kind, Kazuki," he said quietly and turned to Kazuki, not even bothering to hide the tears in his eyes. "But you've never seen hell. You've never witnessed what I've witnessed. I know that you probably don't like me because of my words toward your friend but you have to understand that I can't find it in myself to feel anything but anger and hatred toward the people who destroyed my home and took my family and most of my friends from me."

He raised a hand and wiped the tears away as a bitter laugh escaped his lips. "Funny. I guess Shun isn't the only hypocrite in our little group," he said quietly.

"Kenshin...what happened in your hometown?" Kazuki asked hesitantly.

Kenshin was silent. "Do you really want to know?" he said finally.

"I do."

Kenshin pushed himself to his feet and leaned against the wall. "What Shun said during his duel against Shuinin, and what Shuinin said, is a pretty accurate description," he said.

"It's hard to believe...Sora has been nothing but kind, a goofball and annoying at times but he never...struck me as the kind of person who would do something like that," Kazuki muttered.

Kenshin turned his gaze to the stars. "Like I told your brother, Kazuki, you shouldn't be so quick to trust someone unless you really know them," he said and pushed away from the wall. "I have to find Yuto. I suggest you stay out of this. I don't want to drag you into this anymore than you already have been."

"Maybe you don't agree but I feel that Sora isn't a bad person and I need to find him," Kazuki said quietly.

"You're right. I don't agree," Kenshin retorted and turned his head away and started to walk away. "Shuinin has likely already returned to Academia. He would not be stupid enough to stay when LDS is after him. You may as well just give up."

"I won't until I know he's okay," Kazuki said.

Kenshin was about to respond when his pendant suddenly began to glow. He glanced at it in confusion. "What the…?"

He heard a gasp and turned to find Kazuki looking at his own pendant, which was also glowing.

"Why is it glowing?" the white-and-blue-haired boy said as the pendant swayed a little while casting bright blue light onto the walls, melding with the garnet light that shone on the wall.

"I don't know," Kenshin said, clasping his hands around it and frowning when he felt how warm it was and how it seemed to be pulsating.

He glanced at Kazuki's and saw that it was doing the same thing.

"What is going on with this?" Kazuki wondered.

Kenshin wished he knew.

 **. . .**

Yuya's hand went to his chest as he doubled over. He felt hot all over and had started feeling that way the instant he'd brought Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon onto the field to face off against his lookalike's Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon. Odd-Eyes and Dark Rebellion began growling at each other, a blue aura surrounding Dark Rebellion while a red aura appeared around Odd-Eyes. It was almost as if they were calling to each other.

He honestly didn't know what was going on. He'd managed to find Sora only to find that the injured boy was engaging in a duel against a boy who had the same face as him. He, not wanting his friend to get hurt again, had immediately joined into the duel and that was what led to his current predicament.

But he had to stop this. He had to put an end to the duel before Sora got more hurt.

Gritting his teeth, Yuya pointed at Dark Rebellion. "Battle! Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, attack Dark Rebellion! Spiral Strike Burst!" he ordered, knowing that his monster would get sent to the Extra Deck if it was destroyed and he would be able to summon it again when needed.

Odd-Eyes and Dark Rebellion clashed against each other, Dark Rebellion's wings were flaring blue as it blocked Odd-Eyes' tail strike before the two of them crashed their heads against each other viciously. Odd-Eyes flipped backwards but, before it could land another attack, his opponent pressed a button on his duel disk.

"I activate the Continuous Trap! Phantom Knights' Fog Blade. This negates your monster's attack and, as long as I control this card, your monster can't attack," Yuto said as a blade made from a jet of fog appeared and separated the two dragons.

Sora suddenly darted forward. "You baited out my attack so that you could Xyz Summon again!" he shouted, his eyes flaring with anger. "And you also didn't use one of your monsters' Overlay Units. How much will you make a fool of me? I will never forgive you!"

His opponent locked eyes with Yuya, ignoring the cyan-haired boy.

Yuya immediately activated Timegazer Magician's effect to negate Phantom Knights' Fog Blade's effect.

His opponent countered by activating Booby Trap E, which copied Phantom Knights' Fog Blade's effect and replaced it.

Yuya gritted his teeth. "This means..." he began.

"Yes. Your monsters attack is negated," his lookalike said.

"I end my turn," Yuya said in frustration.

Sora darted a few more feet forward and shoved Yuya out of the way. "Get lost if you can't do anything," he snapped. "He is my prey!"

"What do you mean by that?" Yuya asked as he recalled what he heard during the duel. _Do I really know you at all?_ "You said something like that during your duel. Yuzu also said that it seems like your friends are the ones who kidnapped Ruri."

His lookalike started in surprise.

"Did Yuzu say that?" Sora said angrily.

"Is that true?" Yuya asked, turning his gaze to his doppelganger for confirmation. "And are you really Yuto?" That name...Yuzu had told him that name and Kazuki had mentioned it when he first told him about the existence of his lookalike.

"That's right," the boy said.

"What happened? Why do you and Sora hate each other so much?" Yuya asked.

Yuto didn't respond.

"Why?" Yuya asked again.

Sora snickered. "There's no way they could answer that. It would be showing their weak side if they did," he said while removing a lollipop and viciously biting down on it.

"What?" Yuya repeated.

Sora swallowed and said, "Yuto's just a remnant of the losers." He dropped the lollipop and crushed it under his foot as he added, "They're the runaways of the Xyz Dimension that me and my allies took over."

"Xyz Dimension?" Yuya echoed.

"Shut up!" Yuto said coolly. "We have not been taken over. Shun and I didn't run away. We came to this world to oppose the Fusion Dimension."

"This world...Fusion Dimension...what does that even mean?" Yuya said.

"Yuto is not from this world," Sora said. "He's from the Xyz Dimension. My allies fought gallantly and won against the Xyz Dimension and if I lost then that would smear mud on their honor. I cannot forgive myself for that. There is no way I would lose to Xyz Scum. My turn. I draw!" Sora drew a card.

"Stop this. You're only going to make your injuries worse," Yuya insisted.

Sora ignored him as he declared. "I will show you the real power that I developed at Academia. I will bring out the strongest monster with real Fusion Summoning!"

However, before he could, his duel disk froze up and then began to glow red.

Sora gasped. "No! Stop! I don't want to go back yet!" he protested.

"Sora!" Yuya shouted.

"Let me finish off Yuto! I can't go back to Academia!" Sora shouted just as he dissolved into blue particles and vanished.

"What is going on?" Yuya exclaimed, whirling around to stare at Yuto after watching his friend vanish in front of his eyes. "What happened?"

"He was sent back to his own dimension," Yuto explained.

"There are other worlds, you and Kurosaki are from the Xyz Dimension and Sora's from the Fusion Dimension?" Yuya asked.

"Yes."

"I don't believe this. This is ridiculous. Give Sora back! He was injured in his duel against Kurosaki," Yuya insisted.

"Academia has their own doctors," Yuto reassured him.

"What is Academia?" Yuya said as he remembered Sora saying that word earlier.  
"Duel Academia is a training school for duel soldiers in the Fusion Dimension," Yuto answered.

"Duel soldiers?"

"Yes. Now that Sora is gone, it would be my turn," Yuto said, referring to the duel they were still in the middle of. "I activate Emergency Provisions." He used it to destroy both of his Trap Cards and his Life Points jumped up to 5000.

"Are you sure about that? With your Trap gone, I can attack you now," Yuya said.

"If you want to then do it," Yuto replied.

"There's no way I could," Yuya snapped and removed his deck, terminating the duel and causing his monsters to vanish. Yuto removed his own deck and his own monster vanished as well.

Yuya studied his lookalike for a long moment as he remembered what they'd discussed earlier. "You said that destroying Sora would be the first step in destroying Fusion. Now that Sora's disappeared, aren't you relieved deep down? Even before, you could have used both of your monsters' Overlay Units and won but you tried to end it peacefully by using one in an attempt to destroy Sora's monster. Do you really want to fight?"

"The people from Academia are invaders," Yuto said. "They invaded my hometown, attacked my comrades, devastated my home, and kidnapped my comrade, Shun's little sister. Our very home was turned into a battlefield."

"The Xyz Dimension?" Yuya deduced.

"That's what Academia calls it because, like the Fusion Dimension uses Fusion Summoning, we use Xyz Summoning. It was never a tool for fighting," Yuto said as he closed his eyes and added softly, "Our duels were there to make people smile and have fun. Until the day Academia attacked us. Heartland was a peaceful city overflowing with smiles."

He went on to explain what happened to Heartland. The Antique Gear monsters destroying everything, the city being engulfed by flames, the citizens being turned into cards one after another.

"I...I..." Yuya stammered out as Yuto finished his description of what happened. He swallowed and said, "I can't believe that Academia used Dueling to take over other worlds."

"Do you think it doesn't concern you, being from a faraway world?" Yuto said as he opened his eyes and fixed their gray depths on Yuya. "The world is larger than you think and there are plenty of things happening in places unseen. I've seen countless people in this world alone turned into cards."

Do they really exist? Yuya found it hard to deny that it was true. However… "If the Xyz Dimension and the Fusion Dimension exist then does that mean…?"

"Yes," Yuto said. "It certainly exists: the Synchro Dimension." He turned his gaze to the sky briefly as he added, "I don't know why the dimensions are divided by summoning methods, but it's an undeniable truth."

"What about us? What's this dimension called?" Yuya asked.

"Academia calls it Standard, the foundation of all that exists, the center world," Yuto said.

Fusion...Xyz...Synchro...Standard...And the Fusion Dimension is invading the Xyz Dimension..."Why is something like this happening?" he said, more to himself than anything. He sighed and added, "I don't get anything about this dimension nonsense. But I do know this. Dueling is not a tool to be used for conflicts. The dueling that I believe in is entertainment to put happy smiles on people's faces."

Yuya thought about one of his father's duels. He thought about how he stood alongside his brother and his mother and cheered his father on. He thought about his second duel against Sawatari and how smiles were brought to the audience's faces as a result. "That is dueling, the entertainment dueling I believe in!" His eyes shone with fierce determination as he shouted, "I can't accept that dueling is being used for fighting!"

Yuto looked taken aback by Yuya's words. "Yuya..." he murmured.

A bright flash of green light suddenly erupted in the park and Yuya shielded his eyes. "What the…?" he began and watched as the green light faded to be replaced by a white motorcycle on top of which sat a boy clad in a white riding suit with a helmet next to a fallen lamppost.

"What is this thing doing here?" a voice exclaimed in frustration followed by a curse and the rider removed the helmet, revealing blue hair with a thick blonde bang that spiked above his left eye and bright blue eyes. However, it was the face that took Yuya by surprise.

The boy's face was identical to his.

 **. . .**

"The glow stopped," Kazuki said as he let the sapphire pendant fall back to his chest.

"That was odd," Kenshin said, also letting go of his pendant before he turned his head again. "I have to go and find Yuto."

"Before you go," Kazuki said, "Will you, at least, tell me something about what happened in your hometown? What Academia did?"

Kenshin turned to him. "Do you really want to know?"

"I do," Kazuki said in an instant.

"Alright. I'll tell you." However, before he could say anything, a bright amber light shone in the alley followed by a yelp and Kazuki and Kenshin were surprised to see, as the light faded, a silver motorcycle pressed up against the empty dumpster at the other end of the alley.

"Geez! What is with me getting sent to the strangest of places? Why can't I just show up where my friend is and not some random place I don't even know? At the very least, I'm pretty sure I'm in the same dimension so there's that," the boy said in almost a single breath as he reached for his helmet and removed it, revealing light gray hair that shone silver in the moonlight with a single thick blonde bang curving around the left side of his face and light gray eyes. However, his face took Kazuki by surprise because it was identical to his.

 _ _Another boy who looks like me? What's going on around here?__ he thought.

"Oi, you two...hey! Why do you guys have the same face as me? Ah whatever. Listen, do you guys know where I can find a certain rash idiot who's liable to jump headfirst into a situation without thinking it through?" the boy asked quickly as he tucked his helmet under his arm.

"Erm..." Kazuki trailed off, still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that this kid looked like him.

"I've seen you before," Kenshin murmured.

Those light-gray eyes landed on Kenshin. "Hey, you're that kid. Does that mean I'm still in the Xyz Dimension? Damn it! I hope Yugo doesn't get into trouble until I can get to whatever dimension he ended up in and find him," he huffed.

"Fusion?" Kazuki repeated.

"Don't call him that to his face," the boy said. "He'll blow a gasket. His name's Yugo, not Fusion. By the way, where the heck am I anyway? Now that I think about it, this city looks too...not destroyed to be Heartland."

Kenshin twitched a little and even Kazuki winced at the rather insensitive wording. "You're in the Standard Dimension," Kenshin said with a clipped, annoyed voice.

"Standard? I sure hope the idiot got transported here too," the boy said.

"Standard...Xyz...you mentioned that Fusion was your enemy, Kenshin, but you don't seem to be treating this guy as an enemy so am I right to assume you're from the Synchro Dimension?" Kazuki asked, turning his gaze to the light-gray-haired boy.

"Got it in one," the boy said with a grin. "Name's Kyoji. And have you seriously not seen a rash idiot around here? He's my height and probably riding a white motorcycle."

"Erm, no, I haven't," Kazuki admitted.

"Damn!" Kyoji groaned, running a hand through his shoulder-length hair. "And this city looks big! I don't know if I'm ever gonna be able to find him, even if it'll be easier getting around than in Heartland. At least there ain't any debris or fires to avoid."

Kenshin twitched again.

Kazuki winced again at the insensitive wording. Really. Did this kid not think about what he would say before he said it?

"Why do you associate with the Pawn of Fusion anyway?" Kenshin said coolly.

"Pawn of Fusion? What the heck are you talking about?"

"Are you an ally of Academia?" Kenshin demanded, narrowing his eyes.

"Ain't never heard of Academia. On that note, do you have anything to do with Rin's kidnapping? 'Cause I remember seeing ya around that kid who Yugo and I saw kidnap Rin so you gotta know him. Also, where is he?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. I've never met a Rin in my life," Kenshin retorted. "How do I know your friend isn't the one who kidnapped Ruri?"

"Who the heck's Ruri?"

Kazuki sighed and stepped between his two lookalikes, holding up both of his hands. "Okay, I think we should stop before this gets out of hand. Kyoji, you can't know for sure that Kenshin had anything to do with your friend's kidnapping and, Kenshin, what are you even basing that accusation on?"

Kenshin huffed but backed down. "I guess you're right," he admitted. "That was a rather baseless and stupid accusation."

Kyoji folded his arms across his chest. "Yeah, yeah. I ain't like Yugo. I ain't gonna jump to no conclusion just 'cause I happen to have seen ya with the kid who kidnapped Rin. I just gotta find that kid and get the answers outta him. Say, have you seen that kid around?"

Kenshin didn't respond.

"Not gonna tell me, huh? I don't know whether that's because you don't know or you're not gonna sell out your friend. Eh, it could be either," Kyoji mused.

Kazuki was about to respond when his pendant suddenly began to glow again. He gasped and looked at it. "What the…?" he broke off as he doubled over as an icy sensation washed over him. He gritted his teeth as blackness gathered on the edges of his vision and he saw Kenshin leaning against the wall for support as his pendant glowed a bright red while Kyoji was doubled over in his motorcycle, the amber pendant around his neck glowing bright.

The light grew brighter and, as it did, so did the blackness grow larger and larger until it engulfed everything and then there was nothing.

 **. . .**

Yuya doubled over as his body once again felt hot all over the instant Yuto brought out Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon in response to the other boy, Yugo, summoning Clear Wing Synchro Dragon. Both dragons were roaring at each other, resonating just like Odd-Eyes and Dark Rebellion had earlier.

The situation he was currently in had spiraled out of control rather quickly when Yugo showed up and accused Yuto of kidnapping his friend. Yuto had responded with accusing Yugo of kidnapping his friend and the result was Yugo and Yuto ending up in a duel. Yugo rode around on his motorcycle on which was his duel disk while Yuto ran around with his monsters in an attempt to avoid getting hit by Yugo and keep up with him.

And then the two dragons were brought out.

Yuto gritted his teeth while Yugo had brought his motorcycle to a halt, also doubled over in his seat, their eyes closed. They didn't move for several moments while their dragons continued to growl at each other as auras of power radiated around them and resonated with each other.

When the two boys' eyes snapped open, Yuya was shocked to see both of them were glowing bright: Yugo's was a bright aqua while Yuto's was a bright blue.

"Let's finish this," Yuto said, his voice harder than previously. "With Dark Rebellion, I will destroy you. And everything."

"Yuto..." Yuya whispered in confusion.

"I activate Dark Rebellion's effect. By detaching one Overlay Unit, I can halve the Attack of a Level 5 or higher monster and gain that lost Attack. Treason Discharge!" Dark Rebellion unfolded his wings, unleashing a blast of lightning that encircled Clear Wing.

"Dark Rebellion will have an Attack of 3750 while Clear Wing will have an attack of 1250," Yuya said to himself.

"I activate Clear Wing's effect," Yugo declared. "When a Level 5 or higher monster is targeted by a monster effect, I can negate that effect and destroy that monster. Dichroic Mirror!"

Light spread across Clear Wing's blade-like wings and a blast of rainbow light shot away from its body, dispelling the lightning.

"I activate Phantom Knights' Wing! This prevents Dark Rebellion's destruction and increases its Attack by 500!" Yuto said and the light rays vanished while Dark Rebellion's Attack rose up to 3000.

 _ _Impressive move__ _,_ Yuya thought.

"Destroy..." Yuto suddenly said.

"Destroy...we will destroy..." Yugo said.

"We will destroy...everything."

"Destroy...destroy..." they said in unison.

Yuya gritted his teeth. "Stop this," he said as he moved forward, trying to ignore the discomfort that was enveloping him from the burning sensation in his chest. "Stop using dueling to clash your hatred against each other!"

"Battle!" Yuto yelled, ignoring Yuya.

Yuya darted in front of him, spreading out his arms. "Stop! This isn't dueling! Duels are there to make people smile and make them happy. Didn't you say that you used dueling to bring smiles to your homeland, to Heartland?!"

Yuto gasped and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, they were no longer glowing. "I...I don't want to hurt anyone," he stammered out and faltered, falling to one knee and lowering his head. "I end my turn."

Yuya darted toward him, overjoyed that his lookalike was back to his senses. He didn't want anyone to use dueling as a tool for conflict or revenge or anything other than what it was meant to be used for, bringing smiles and happiness to everyone. He was glad that Yuto had come to remember that but Yuya knew that he still had to get through to his other lookalike somehow.

Yuya turned as Yugo started his turn by summoning Speedroid Shave Boomerang. "You've got to stop too! This isn't right!" he shouted.

"I activate Shave Boomerang's effect and switch it to Defense Position to reduce the attack of a monster by 300," his lookalike said.

 _ _It won't be enough if he uses it on Dark Rebellion__ _._ _Yuya frowned._

"I use this effect on Clear Wing Synchro Dragon," Yugo said. "Then I activate Clear Wing's effect, since a Level 5 or higher monster was targeted by a monster effect, I can negate that effect and destroy that monster. Dichroic Mirror!"

Shave Boomerang shattered as soon as the rainbow light cascaded down on it.

Yuya relaxed, starting to think that Yugo saw reason too.

But he was wrong.

"Clear Wing gains Attack equal to the Attack of the monster it destroyed with its effect," Yugo revealed and Yuya gasped, watching in horror as Clear Wing's Attack rose up to 4500.

"Clear Wing Synchro Dragon, attack Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon! Helldive Slasher of Whirlwind!" Yugo declared.

"Stop this..." Yuya shouted as he remained standing in front of Yugo, watching as Dark Rebellion flew up to meet the oncoming attack but was not strong enough to withstand it. It shattered and the attack plunged toward Yuya who gritted his teeth but remained where he stood.

"Yuya!" a shout sounded and Yuya gasped as he found himself shoved out of the way right before the attack struck. He whirled around, his eyes wide as the ground exploded, sending Yuto flying as his Life Points fell to zero.

"Yuto!" he gasped and darted over to join Yuto, kneeling down beside the purple-and-black-haired boy, unaware of the bright light that surrounded them.

 **. . .**

On the other side of the city, three boys were currently either resting against the wall or resting over the control bars of a motorcycle but it was clear by their closed eyes and how still their forms were that they were unconscious.

But their minds were not.

 _The land was beautiful. A pristine land that reminded Kazuki of a more advanced version of Maiami City. Tall buildings rose up into the air and bridges arced over a river that wound its way through the heart of the city._

 _"What is this place?" he whispered but he found that he couldn't hear his own voice. In fact, it felt as if he was looking through the eyes of another person and, when he felt his lips move, he knew it was not his own lips that were moving but rather the lips of the person through whose eyes he was seeing everything. And the words that were leaving his lips were also not his own._

 _"Big Brother?" that person said._

 _"Boo!" At the sound of a voice behind him, the person jumped and whirled around, pouting at the source of the scare who was grinning, a smile that reminded Kazuki so much of his brother. The face was blurry and Kazuki couldn't make out anything of the older boy's facial features or his hair color or even his eye color. The only thing he noticed was that the boy looked like he was about seventeen years old._

 _"Stop doing that, Big Brother ****."_

 _The big brother laughed and ruffled the little brother's hair. "Sorry, ****, it was too good to pass up," he said with a grin before concern entered his voice as he added, "But what's wrong?"_

 _"I haven't been getting much sleep again," the little brother said. "That dream...it just keeps bothering me and...with how your dueling's been...changing, I just...I fear..."_

 _The big brother knelt down in front of the little brother and gently gathered the little brother into his arms. "It'll be alright, Little Brother," he said gently and pulled back, smiling at the little brother. "I'm just trying out something new, that's all. The audience is liking it. Isn't that all that matters?"_

 _"But..." the little brother clearly didn't agree with that._

 _"****, don't worry so much. You're starting to sound like ***," the big brother said with a small frown._

 _"I...I'm just concerned," the little brother whispered. "I just...I don't want you to get hurt or...or anyone else to get hurt. I just..."_

 _The smile returned, a soft one. "It's just a game, ****. Nothing like that'll happen. That happened once and it was on accident. I'm trying not to do that again so don't worry. No one will get hurt."_

 _The little brother gazed at the big brother. "Do you promise? Do you promise that no one will get hurt again?"_

 _The big brother drew the little brother closer to him. "For you, ****, I promise. I would do anything for you, Little Brother," he said quietly._

And, as quiet as a whisper and as fleeting as a glance, the scene faded away. Nothingness once again enveloped the consciousness of the three boys who shared the same face, leaving them to float in the darkness with only the feelings of love and devotion that was all that remained of the odd vision.

 **. . .**

Yuto struggled to open his eyes. He felt so weak. His entire body ached from the viciousness of that last attack. Never before had he gotten hit with an attack that bad before and he found that it hurt to move, it hurt to even breath.

"Yuto?" a soft voice said and Yuto managed to open his eyes as he felt his body shift. He turned his gray gaze to find Yuya gazing down at him with concern in his crimson eyes. "Stay with me. A...Are you alright?"

Yuto gave him a small smile, his eyes traveling down to where his card was glowing. He could feel that his dragon wanted to go with Yuya; he didn't know how he could feel that but that was what he felt and he decided to listen to his dragon's unspoken request.

He held up the card to Yuya. He knew that he didn't have much time left. That attack had taken too much out of him but he hoped that Yuya would still be able to continue on his path. Smiles...with duels...make everyone happy. He knew that Yuya had the power, had the potential, within him; he wasn't sure how he knew that but that was his gut talking and he decided not to ignore it, just like he listened to his dragon's unspoken request.

"Duels with smiles..." he whispered as he held Dark Rebellion out toward Yuya. So tired. He was feeling very tired. "With your power, give it to the world...and everyone's futures...smiles..."

Yuya took the card. "With my power?"

Yuto nodded, a smile still dominating his lips before he felt himself fading away.

 _ _Ruri...Shun...Kenshin, I'm sorry__ _,_ he thought and found himself wishing that he had more time. That he could speak with his two best friends and the girl he liked as a bit more than a friend one more time.

Shun was his best friend while Kenshin had become like family. He was the little brother that Yuto never had and yet a part of him always wanted. He never did get the chance to tell Kenshin that he saw him as family, as a little brother, but he hoped that, in his heart, Kenshin knew.

 _ _Stay out of trouble...Kenshin...my friend, my little brother...and take...care of Shun for me__ _,_ he thought, though he knew that Kenshin would never hear his words, would never be able to speak to him again.

He silently apologized to his unofficial little brother, his best friend, and the girl he liked as more than a friend.

The darkness was slowly engulfing him and then there was darkness illuminated briefly by bright blue light and, then, even that faded away until there was nothing.

 **. . .**

Academia was quiet as the boy made his way down the hallway after the indigo-haired girl. He had light green hair with lavender tips with lavender bangs that spiked on either side of his head and his eyes were the same color as the majority of his hair. Around his neck hung a silver chain attached to which was an emerald pendant around which wound a silver bale.

Both the boy and his companion were silent, thinking about the words that they had overheard from Shuinin Sora when he woke up after being brought back to Academia. There were Xyz remnants within the Standard Dimension.

"Do you even know where you're going?" the boy asked.

"Of course I do," the girl said as she paused in the middle of a hallway and her green eyes scanned the area. "I'm pretty sure it's this way."

"Pretty sure...right...you're lost," the boy deadpanned.

"You should not be talking, Mr. Non-Existent Sense of Direction."

The boy's cheeks went red. "You got that from __him__."

The girl smirked and kept on walking. "We've gotta keep moving. The sooner we get to the Standard Dimension and find those Xyz remnants, the sooner we can both prove to the Professor that we shouldn't be staying behind like this, that we are strong enough to fight on the frontlines."

The boy didn't care about that. All he cared about was proving his strength to him, to the boy who had his loyalty. So long as he made him proud, the boy didn't care what he had to do or who he had to disobey.

"I'm afraid I cannot let you two go any further, Serena-sama, Kohaku-sama," a soft but firm voice said and the boy and girl bit back groans before turning to find a tall, burly man with gray spiky hair and crimson eyes with an eye patch covering his left eye around which was also a vicious-looking scar standing behind them.

"I am not staying here like a little princess! I'm strong enough. I can fight!" Serena said with a scowl.

"I won't stay behind either. I know I'm strong enough to fight as well, Barrett," Kohaku said, his eyes flashing with determination.

Barrett glanced between the two of them. "I have this odd feeling you will go even if I say no. However, I could send you two back to your quarters."

"That's not gonna stop us," Serena said.

Kohaku didn't respond but he had his ways of getting out of his quarters if Barrett decided to lock him in his, not that he would. Serena was the only one that the Professor seemed to want kept within Academia's main building while Kohaku had a bit more free reign, even if he wasn't allowed to leave Academia without permission either.

But if he wanted to make him proud then he had to do this, he had to track down the Xyz remnants and eliminate them.

"Very well," Barrett said and turned his head before he pointed. "Down that hallway. The stairs that will take you to the dimensional transporter room is the third door on your right."

"Wait, you're helping us?" Kohaku said, puzzled.

"I will, of course, accompany you two to serve as your bodyguard."

"I don't need a bodyguard," Serena huffed.

Kohaku placed a hand on the indigo-haired girl's shoulder and leaned closer. "Just let it go. He's letting us leave so we should grab this chance and run with it," he murmured.

Serena thought about it for a moment but huffed. "Oh fine. Let's go. The sooner we get out of here, the less likely we'll be stopped again," she said and darted toward the room Barrett had indicated.  
Kohaku darted after her with Barrett running right behind him.

 **. . .**

"We have taken a look at the memories of our agent in the Standard Dimension."

A holographic image appeared to reveal a pink-haired girl with blue eyes and the same exact face as the other two girls that he had been sent to retrieve earlier.

"Hiiragi Yuzu. She is very likely the final piece that I have been searching for." A tall, broad-shouldered man dressed in a purple militaristic outfit with blue eyes turned around to face the boy standing in front of him. The boy with predominantly violet hair with pink underneath, thick pink eyebrows, cool purple eyes, and a quietly cold smile.

"You will retrieve this girl and bring her to me, won't you...Yuri?" the broad-shouldered man said.

The boy's cool smile grew wider.

 **. . .**

 ** **Next Time: Wrathful Awakening****

 **. . .**


	13. Wrathful Awakening

****Hey, it's finally a new chapter! I know it's been a while but...I really don't have a good enough excuse, other than the fact that I've been working far more hours than I used to, so I'll just say sorry about the long wait.****

 ** **Anyway, thank you to** ** _Guest, Fallen Angel, talesfanjmf, Dranzer, MagicalPrincess07,_** **and** ** _Slimslam_** **for reviewing the last chapter. You guys are great.****

 ** **So this chapter will include Kazuki's duel in the second round of the tournament, canon stuff, character development, and yeah. I hope that you enjoy it and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.****

 ** **Turn 13****

 **Wrathful Awakening**

Kenshin regained consciousness and found himself seated in the darkened alleyway, the sensation from that strange vision lingering in the back of his mind. That devotion...that love...he didn't know what to make of it, other than it was really strong.

The sun was gone. The stars were covered by thick clouds and a cool breeze drifted through the alley, causing him to shiver, or maybe that was just the feeling of dread that was slowly replacing the feelings from that strange vision. He didn't know why but he felt as if something terrible had happened and his worry for Yuto doubled.

 _ _Why...Why do I feel like something terrible has happened? And why am I automatically thinking about Yuto? He...Has something happened?__ Kenshin bit his lip and pushed away from the wall he'd been sitting against and glanced around the alley, remembering that he'd been with his two other lookalikes.

He noticed that Kyoji had also regained consciousness and was starting up his motorcycle nearby, his helmet already in place but there was a slight frown on his lips. He said nothing to Kenshin as he shot out of the alley, forcing the light-orange-haired boy to shield his face from the dust that had been conjured up.

He turned to find his other lookalike still unconscious on the ground and frowned, wondering why his Standard counterpart was still unconscious but decided that it didn't matter. That feeling of dread was still simmering within him and Kenshin knew he had to find Yuto.

Something was wrong. Something was terribly wrong. __Yuto...Please be okay__ _,_ he thought as he knelt down beside Kazuki and picked up his duel disk.

No matter how quickly he wanted to find Yuto, wanted to find his comrade and friend and the boy who'd become like family to him, he wasn't the kind of person who would just leave Kazuki like that without, at least, calling for help.

He had to scroll through Kazuki's contacts before he found a name that he recalled from the duel he'd had earlier that day whom he'd also seen with Kazuki, Yuzu, and Sakaki Yuya in front of LDS earlier as well.

 _ _I hope Gongenzaka responds to the message or, at least, heads over here__ _,_ he thought as he quickly sent a text to Gongenzaka's duel disk with Kazuki's location.

He lowered the duel disk and darted off. He didn't want to leave Kazuki but he had to find Yuto. He had to find his friend and comrade; he didn't want to think that something terrible had happened to Yuto but that feeling of dread refused to leave him alone. It reminded him of that bad feeling he felt when he had let Yuto go interrogate Shuinin Sora alone and he cursed himself, wishing that he'd managed to convince Yuto to let him go with him.

He darted down the street as he pulled out his duel disk and attempted to contact Yuto. He hadn't done that earlier because he knew that Yuto had turned off his duel disk just in case so that it wouldn't go off while he was interrogating Shuinin. However, Kenshin found himself hoping that Yuto had turned it back on and would answer and reassure him that he was all right.

It rang and that was all it did. No one answered.

 _ _Yuto…__ Kenshin thought and bit his lip as he returned his duel disk back to its holster and scanned the street he was on as he darted toward the park. That was their rendezvous; if Yuto was anywhere then it would be there.

He skidded to a halt once he neared the park and ducked behind a tree when he caught sight of familiar pink hair along with another taller person kneeling beside the unconscious form of Sakaki Yuya.

 _ _What's he doing here?__ Kenshin wondered and gazed around the park but he didn't see Yuto anywhere. The stage had been damaged and there were scorch marks on the ground as if a battle had taken place there, making Kenshin wonder if a duel had taken place. __Did Yuto duel? Did he and Yuya duel? Or what? What happened?__

"Let's get him home," the taller person said as he stood up, easily carrying Yuya's unconscious form in his arms. "I don't think we're going to be able to find Sora today. We can try again tomorrow but, for now, let's go home."

"I...I'll contact Gongenzaka and let him know," Yuzu said as she shakily pulled out her duel disk, gazing at Yuya's still form with concern and confusion glittering in her blue eyes. She clearly didn't know what had happened here anymore than Kenshin did; Kenshin had no doubt that the only one who knew what happened there was Yuya.

He bit his lip. __Yuya...I have to talk to you. I have to know what happened to Yuto__ _,_ he thought but he knew that he wouldn't be getting any answers out of his best friend's lookalike today because of his current state.

"What…? What do you mean?" Yuzu suddenly gasped into her duel disk.

She listened and the worry grew stronger in her eyes. "Is Kazuki okay?" she asked.

She listened and let loose a breath. "I'm glad. We'll meet you back at Yuya's house. Yuya's unconscious too and I don't know why," she said before she nodded once and hung up, returning her duel to its holster.

"What happened?" the taller person said.

"Gongenzaka received a message from Kazuki's duel disk and, when he went to the location that the message said, he found Kazuki unconscious. He's not injured or anything like that but he won't wake up," Yuzu explained.

The taller person sighed and gazed down at Yuya's form. "Yoko is going to be so worried," he said quietly before he turned and darted out of the park with Yuzu running right behind him.

Kenshin leaned against the tree. He was relieved that Gongenzaka had listened to that message that he had sent him, he'd been afraid that Gongenzaka would ignore it. He closed his eyes and rested his head back against the tree trunk as he thought about what to do now.

 _ _I'll go back to the hideout__ _,_ he decided as he opened his eyes. He didn't know what else to do. The park was empty. Sakaki Yuya, Hiiragi Yuzu, and the adult that was with them had been the only ones that Kenshin could see so the only thing that he could think of was that Yuto left at some point. That was what he was hoping; he was hoping that his best friend had just gone back to the hideout and he would find him there, safe and sound.

He hoped that was the case anyway.

Even if that bad feeling refused to leave him alone.

 _ _Yuto…__

Kenshin pushed away from the tree and darted away from the park, heading toward the street that would take him to the warehouse district where his and Yuto's hideout was located. As he ran, he tried to shake that bad feeling from him, tried to focus on the positive, focus on the fact that Yuto was a survivor.

Yuto was just fine. He was safe.

For some reason, Kenshin found it very difficult to believe that.

 **. . .**

Kazuki stirred, his eyes fluttered a few times as the first sensation that came back to him was movement. He was being moved and he could make out a dimly lit street and darkened buildings but nothing beyond that. Slowly, he lifted his head and blinked his eyes a few times as they finished adjusting to the dimly lit area.

"You're awake," Gongenzaka's relieved voice sounded and Kazuki turned to find that the reason why he felt like he was being moved was because he was resting on Gongenzaka's broad back. "I was very worried when I found you and you were unconscious, Kazuki."

"W...Where are we?" Kazuki asked.

"A few blocks from your house," Gongenzaka said. "Yuzu and her dad are going to meet us there with Yuya."

"With...Yuya? What do you mean?" Kazuki said, puzzled.

"I do not know the entire story," Gongenzaka said as he rounded the corner and stepped onto the street that would take him directly to the Sakaki Household. "But Yuzu called me to tell me that she found Yuya unconscious in the park. She does not know what happened to him, only that he is unconscious and won't wake up even though he isn't injured."

"Yuya..." Kazuki whispered, worry flooding through him as he thought about his brother. "You said he wasn't injured?"

"Yes. That is what Yuzu said," Gongenzaka said.

"I see..." Kazuki fell silent, watching as his house grew closer. His mother was standing on the porch outside the house and relief shone on her face as Gongenzaka came to a stop at the bottom of the steps.

"Kazuki," she said, relieved as she moved down the stairs while Kazuki gingerly climbed off Gongenzaka's back. He swayed a bit but managed to stay upright before he found himself engulfed in his mother's arms.

"Is Yuya here yet?" Kazuki asked as he hugged his mother back.

"He's in his room. Yuzu and Shuzo just left. Yuzu said that she'll be back in the morning to check up on him. I'm glad you're alright, Kazuki," Yoko said quietly. "When Yuzu said that you were unconscious as well, I was worried."

"Sorry," Kazuki apologized. He hadn't meant to make his mother worried.

"I had best get back to the dojo," Gongenzaka said. "If I hear anything about Sora, I will let you guys know."

"So you weren't able to find him," Yoko said as she guided Kazuki into the house while Gongenzaka turned and made his way back down the street.

"No. I kind of got caught up in another situation," said the white-haired boy absently, too worried about his brother to really think about anything else.

Yoko seemed to notice because she patted his shoulder. "You can go and check up on him, you know."

Kazuki nodded and made his way toward the stairs before walking to his brother's room. He pushed the door open and walked over to kneel beside his brother's bed, gazing at his motionless form. His chest rose and fell steadily while his eyes were closed; he looked peaceful, like he was simply sleeping.

"Yuya...what happened?" Kazuki said quietly as he rested his hand on his brother's hand. He closed his eyes and laid his head on the edge of his brother's bed, his thoughts drifting to everything that had happened that day. The duel...Sora getting hurt...meeting Kenshin and Kyoji...that strange vision...finding out Yuya was unconscious for some unknown reason…

"What is going on around here?" he said quietly. "That vision...another boy who looks just like me...other dimensions...invasions...kidnappings...all of it. I just don't get any of this."

He dozed off and jolted out of his sleep when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Lifting his head, he turned to find his mother kneeling beside him.

"You're going to get a crick in your neck if you sleep like that," she said gently. "I brought a few pillows and a blanket if you want to stay here with Yuya."

"Thanks," Kazuki said. He was tired anyway and decided that he would just sleep there for the night. It wasn't as if it would be the first time that he's done this; they always did this whenever the other was sick or hurt. Their mother never said anything because she knew that they liked being near each other when they were sick or hurt.

"Get some sleep, Kazuki," Yoko said gently. "I'm sure Yuya will be fine in the morning."

"Alright," Kazuki said and laid down on the ground after shifting the pillows around to make a makeshift bed while Yoko gently draped the blanket she'd brought over him. "Good night, Mom."

"Good night," Yoko said and left the room, closing the door gently behind her.

Kazuki turned onto his side and gazed up at Yuya's unconscious form. __Yuya...I hope Mom's right and you'll be fine in the morning,__ he thought as he closed his eyes and tried to get to sleep.

He couldn't sleep. His mind just wouldn't shut off; it was too focused on that odd vision, those feelings that the vision had left him with, the knowledge that he had two lookalikes—and that likely meant that he had a third lookalike from the Fusion Dimension—and the knowledge of the existence of other dimensions.

He sighed as his eyes fluttered open and he gazed at the ceiling of his brother's room. He was tired but his mind was too active. He hummed quietly to himself, almost self-consciously humming the lullaby his dad used to sing to him and Yuya when they were little and couldn't get to sleep. He'd been so young then that he only remembered the melody of the lullaby but it did help.

It was soothing and reminded him of a time when he, his brother, and his parents were all together as a family and he didn't have to worry about other dimensions, strange visions, and lookalikes.

The lullaby did the trick, soothing Kazuki's mind and allowing him to drift off into a peaceful sleep.

 **. . .**

Yuya dreamed. He was unsure of what he was dreaming about. It was a conversation but no names were named and no faces were seen. Only words, feelings, and brief actions that were so real that it felt as if Yuya was the one performing the action.

 _ _"Big Brother?" A concerned query.__

 _ _"What is it, ****?" An equally concerned response. "What's wrong?"__

 _ _"Nothing, it's just...you hurt someone..."__

 _ _A sigh. "****, I did not do that on purpose. It was an accident." A reassuring response.__

 _ _"Everyone liked it though. That's just wrong. And this isn't the first time that's happened! ****, you promised me!"__

 _ _"****, I am trying to keep that promise. As I said, it was an accident. I did not mean for that to happen."__

 _ _A quiet sob. "Big Brother, I don't like that everyone enjoyed it. It's...terrible that they actually enjoyed that! Why?! Why did they enjoy something so terrible?!"__

 _ _Movement. Arms encircled the younger boy. "It's all right, ****. It's all right. I don't know why they're liking this and it is wrong. It's not what I wanted. I want to bring smiles and happiness to everyone with my duels but not this way."__

 _ _"Big Brother..."__

 _ _"Don't worry, Little Brother ****. I will try my hardest to ensure another accident doesn't happen. I promise."__

 _ _"O...Okay, Big Brother ****."__

The dream faded, leaving Yuya with only the sense of devotion, the sense of determination to keep that promise for some odd reason, and the sheer love that lingered even as the darkness of unconsciousness once again enveloped his mind.

 **. . .**

Kazuki yawned as he gazed at his brother's motionless form and he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. That first night notwithstanding, the past nights have been hard for him, primarily because he hadn't been able to sleep at all the second night. Not even that lullaby had helped.

Two days had gone by since Yuya was found unconscious in the park and he was showing no signs of waking up during those two days and Kazuki couldn't help but feel concerned. He knew that was the primary reason why he was finding it so hard to sleep at night; the worry he'd felt for his brother that first night had only gotten stronger when Yuya showed no signs of waking up all day yesterday or even today, though it was around noon.

The other thing that was keeping Kazuki up was that odd dream. It was a dream similar to the dream he had that night he and Yuya stargazed before the tournament even began. There were no names he could make out. There were no clear images, only blurred images of the two who were speaking to each other. The only clear things had been words and feelings.

It was kind of like that strange vision that Kazuki had that night in that alley before he'd been found by Gongenzaka; that vision had been a bit more detailed than the dream he'd just had but it still hadn't helped him figure out what was going on or who those two brothers were or why he was dreaming about them.

He sighed and rubbed his temples as he gazed out the window at the quiet city beyond. The tournament was still going on in spite of what happened in the park. The rest of the first round matches were that day; Kazuki had been paying attention to them and knew that Mieru and Yaiba would be dueling today for the Junior Youth Division.

The door to the room opened and Kazuki turned to find his mother and Yuzu making their way into the room. "How is he?" Yuzu asked as she knelt down beside Kazuki while Yoko sat on her knees next to her.

"There's been no change," Kazuki said, turning his light-blue gaze back to his brother's motionless form and frowned in worry. "It's been two days. I really am worried."

Yuzu nodded in agreement. "Yeah, so am I." She turned her gaze to Kazuki and added, "What happened to you though, Kazuki? Gongenzaka said that you were unconscious when he found you as well."

"I don't really know myself," Kazuki said, frowning as he thought about that odd vision but, before he could talk more about what happened, a loud exclamation sounded outside the window.

Kazuki, Yuzu, and Yoko turned to find Mieru, with her face pressed against the window, gazing at Yuya's motionless form. She opened the window and jumped into the room.

Kazuki raised an eyebrow and leaned toward Yuzu. "Isn't this considered breaking and entering?" he murmured.

Yuzu's lips quirked. "I believe so," she murmured back.

"Oh my Darling," Mieru gasped. "What has happened to you? Don't worry, Darling! I'm here to make everything better!"

While Kazuki did find Mieru's crush on Yuya amusing, he was too concerned over his brother's condition to be amused by Mieru's actions. Yuzu and Yoko did get irritated with Mieru to the point that, when Mieru's duel in the tournament was about to start and Mieru decided against attending, they were quick to convince her otherwise.

She was quick to agree to go to her duel when Yoko and Yuzu insisted that it would be what Yuya would want.

The thing was that Yuya would have wanted that. He wouldn't have wanted Mieru to throw her duel because of him.

Not long after Mieru left, Yuya began to stir. As Yuya's eyes fluttered open, Kazuki, Yuzu, and Yoko leaned toward him. He blinked a few times and gazed around, his eyes landing on the three of them. "Kazuki...Yuzu...Mom?" he said quietly.

Yoko smiled in relief while Kazuki leaned forward and hugged his brother, unable to stop himself. He was too relieved that his brother seemed like he was all right after having been asleep for the past two days.

Yuya seemed surprised but Kazuki felt his brother's arms encircle him. "What's wrong?" Yuya asked quietly.

Kazuki leaned back and gave his brother a small half-smile. "I was worried."

"Worried? Why?" Yuya said in puzzlement.

"You've been asleep for the past two days and showed no real signs of waking up," Kazuki explained.

"Two days?" Yuya said in shock as he released his brother and shifted so that he was seated cross-legged on his bed. "I've been asleep for that long?"

"Yeah. You must have been really tired," Yoko said with a small smile. "But, then, you've been pretty much dueling nonstop since your qualifying matches. I'm not surprised you're tired. You're probably hungry too. I'll go get you something to eat." She stood up and left the room, returning only a few minutes later with a plate of food.

"What about the tournament? What happened?" Yuya asked.

"The first round matches of the Junior Youth Division are ending today," Kazuki said.

"Yeah, Mieru's duel should be going on right now," Yuzu said, pulling out her duel disk and pulling up the tournament but frowned. "Wait, this isn't Mieru's duel. Let me see..." She tapped her finger against her duel disk's screen and gasped.

"What is it?" Yuya asked.

"It's over," Yuzu said. "Mieru's duel against the Fuuma Duel School's Tsukikage ended in a One-Turn-Kill."

"An OTK?" Yuya and Kazuki echoed in unison, both of them unable to keep the surprise out of their voices.

Yuzu nodded. "Yeah."

"What about the other duels?" Yuya said.

"Yesterday, Futoshi-kun fought Layra from LDS," Yuzu said.

"Layra? The boy who beat Ayu?" Yuya asked.

"Yeah," Kazuki said. "That time, Layra used Fusion Summoning but, this time, he used Synchro Summoning."

"Synchro?" Yuya repeated.

Kazuki nodded and thought about the day before. He'd gone to that match, because his mother insisted that Yuya would have wanted him to enjoy the tournament in person and support the rest of You Show. After watching that duel, and studying how Layra used Synchro Summoning, Kazuki had gone to Gongenzaka and asked for some quick instruction.

It helped that, not long after his first duel in the tournament, he managed to find the monsters he needed in order to start teaching himself that third summoning method. Gongenzaka's help came in handy to ensure that he got the basics down but he hoped he'd gotten enough of it down to be able to use it in his upcoming duel; it would certainly help to show that he was getting stronger as a duelist and that his studying had paid off.

"Yeah, he used Synchro Summoning," Yuzu said and glanced at Kazuki. "Speaking of that, Kazuki, what were you talking to Gongenzaka about after that duel?"

Kazuki shrugged. "Just some basic instruction," he said.

"Basic instruction? Did you decide to teach yourself how to Synchro Summon?"

Kazuki nodded. "It took me a few days to find the cards that I needed and I've only studied the summoning method through watching Gongenzaka's and Layra's duels while reading through manuals so I haven't exactly put it into practice yet."

"Isn't that what you did with Xyz Summoning? And Fusion Summoning at that?" Yuya asked.

"Sora still doesn't believe me about the Fusion Summoning but, yeah, basically," Kazuki said.

Yuya gave him a soft smile. "I have no doubt you'll be fine, considering how easily you got the hang of Fusion and Xyz Summoning," he said and then pressed his lips together, a thoughtful and somewhat downcast expression crossing his eyes.

Kazuki frowned at that expression.

"Back to Layra, I think he might end up being like Akaba Reiji and capable of using Fusion, Xyz, and Synchro Summoning," Yuzu said, not seeming to have noticed that look.

"Fusion...Xyz...Synchro..." Yuya murmured, his brow furrowing as his gaze went to the tray of food that rested in front of him.

Yuzu did hear Yuya's puzzled and somber tone then and frowned. "What's wrong?" she said.

"That night, the night Sora left the hospital, I met Yuto," Yuya said, closing his eyes.

"Yuto?" Yuzu repeated.

"That night...you met Yuto?" Kazuki echoed and his brow furrowed as he remembered that Kenshin had been looking for Yuto as well.

"He told me that our world was split into four different dimensions," Yuya said.

"Four dimensions?" Yuzu echoed.

"Fusion, Synchro, Xyz, and the one we live in is known as Standard," Yuya explained. "Sora is from the Fusion Dimension. Yuto and Kurosaki come from Xyz..."

"As does Kenshin," Kazuki said.

Yuya nodded and added, "Their dimensions are at war with each other and, in front of my very eyes, Sora fought against Yuto and disappeared."

A confused expression crossed Yuzu's face. "Disappeared?"

"Yuto said that he was forcefully sent back to the Fusion Dimension," Yuya said, opening his eyes but keeping his gaze on the tray in front of him."

"He said that?"

"Yeah. After that, Yugo appeared," Yuya said.

"Yugo?" Yuzu and Kazuki repeated.

"Yugo is another guy who looks exactly like me," Yuya explained. "He showed up riding what looked like a motorcycle. He's probably a duelist from the Synchro Dimension."

"That must be who Kyoji was referring to then," Kazuki said.

"Kyoji?" Yuzu said.

Kazuki nodded. "While I was searching for Sora, I ran into Kenshin and, while we were talking, a boy on a motorcycle appeared and he had the same exact face as me. He said he was looking for his friend who was likely riding a motorcycle just like him."

"Another boy who looks like you?" Yuya repeated.

Kazuki nodded.

"Did this Kyoji attack Kenshin?" Yuya asked.

Kazuki shook his head. "They almost came to blows but, once I pointed out that they were jumping to conclusions without proof, they calmed down."

"I wish the same could be said about Yuto and Yugo," Yuya said. "They fought each other almost as soon as Yugo appeared."

"But Yuto said he was fighting against Fusion," Yuzu said in confusion. "In order to save Ruri who was captured by them."

"The one who did that may have been Yugo," Yuya said and stood up, walking over to his desk as he added, "Yuto said that there was a Pawn of Fusion in the Synchro Dimension."

Kazuki also stood up. "Even so," he said, "if there's someone who looks like you in both the Xyz and Synchro Dimension, don't you think it's very likely that there's someone who looks just like you from the Fusion Dimension?"

"There's a good chance that's the case," Yuya said. "I don't really know anymore but I do know one thing." He picked up a card on the desk and Kazuki peered over his shoulder to look at the card, his eyes widening when he read the name.

Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon.

"Why do you have Yuto's card?" he gasped.

"What?" Yuzu said, also getting to her feet and walking over to join Yuya to glance at the card.

"I don't know why but Yuto gave it to me," Yuya said. "He told me to make people smile with dueling. Why would he do that? I just don't get any of this. Yuto...Yugo...why do they have the same face as me? And why are there people out there with the same face as you, Kazuki?"

Kazuki curled his arms around his brother's shoulder. "I don't know," he said quietly. "I've been trying to figure that out myself but I can't come up with anything."

"It's not just you," Yuzu said. "I also have someone who looks just like me."

"Ruri," Kazuki recalled. "Yuto mentioned her and that you and she had the same face as well."

"And I wouldn't be surprised if there was someone in both the Synchro Dimension and the Fusion Dimension who looked exactly like me as well," Yuzu said.

"Kyoji and Kenshin have the same face as me so it's likely there's someone who has the same face as me from the Fusion Dimension as well," Kazuki said.

Yuya lowered the card and closed his eyes, leaning against Kazuki. "I wish I knew just what's going on around here," he said and opened his eyes, gazing at Dark Rebellion's card. "Kurosaki might know."

"Huh?" Yuzu wondered.

"He's Yuto's comrade," Yuya said.

"He might but Kenshin's also Yuto's comrade and he didn't seem to know why he had the same face as me or why Yuto has the same face as you," Kazuki pointed out.

"Even so, both of them are the only ones I can ask," Yuya said. "I'm not sure if I can believe this whole multiple dimensions thing but, at least, they can confirm what Yuto told me and I can ask about Ruri. Kurosaki is her older brother, right? He might know something more because of that."

Yuzu and Kazuki looked at each other.

"It's worth a shot anyway," Kazuki said. "I don't know if you'll be able to speak with Kenshin, since he's not part of the tournament, but tracking down Kurosaki should be easy enough. We can ask Yaiba, Masumi, and Hokuto."

"Right," Yuya said with a nod.

 **. . .**

"That wasn't pleasant."

"Don't you dare get sick on me."

Kohaku huffed and gave Serena an irritated glare as he took a few deep breaths to control his nausea. Traveling between dimensions wasn't exactly pleasant but, at the very least, he, Serena, and Barrett made it to the Standard Dimension in one piece. "I'm fine, by the way. Thanks for asking," he said, unable to keep the sarcasm out of his voice.

Serena snorted and turned her gaze to the city, drawing the hood of the cloak she'd carried with her while Kohaku and Barrett did the same.

"Let's go. And we're sticking together," she said.

"That would be best," Barrett said. "It would do us no good if one of us got lost in this city."

Two sets of eyes landed on Kohaku.

"Does everyone know about my bad sense of direction?" Kohaku asked with a sigh.

"Yes," Serena and Barrett deadpanned at once.

Kohaku sulked before studying the city that lay in front of him. Considering how big it was, he suspected that they were both right and he would get lost rather easily if he didn't stick with Serena and Barrett. They, at least, had a good sense of direction even if they had never been to this city before. "All right, I'll stick with you guys," he said.

"Finding the Xyz remnants isn't going to be easy, though. I doubt they're going to be obvious about who they are."

"If we find someone who uses Xyz Summoning then they are likely our targets," Serena said as she and Barrett began walking toward the city while Kohaku jogged after them. "Eventually, we'll find the ones we're seeking."

Kohaku heard the stubborn determination in Serena's voice and mused that she was likely to go through with that plan, if it could be considered one, no matter what anyone said. He was sure that, while it would likely get their job done, there were likely a lot of Xyz users in this dimension, since he knew from his studies that the Standard Dimension had users of all three summoning methods.

 _This is going to take a while,_ he mused but, since he didn't have any other ideas on how to find the Xyz remnants, he decided to just follow Serena's plan.

 **. . .**

"So you don't really speak to Kurosaki?" Yuya asked. He, Kazuki, and Yuzu were standing in front of Yaiba, Hokuto, and Masumi. They'd tracked the three down as soon as they'd arrived at the stadium but the three had just admitted that they didn't really interact with Kurosaki as much.

"Nope," Hokuto said with a shake of his head. "Heck, he's so anti-social that no one at LDS really interacts with him."

"But since you're here, why don't you stay and watch my duel?" Yaiba suggested with a grin.

Yuya glanced at his friend and brother but decided that, since they weren't likely to be able to speak to Kurosaki today, they may as well stay and watch the duel.

"Alright," he said.

"Don't worry. It'll be a quick match," Yaiba said.

A quick match it was, and not in Yaiba's favor. In fact, the duel was absolutely brutal.

Yaiba's opponent, Kachidoki Isao from the Ryozanpaku School, was an extremely brutal duelist. Using kicks, punches, and elbows to the gut or head to ensure that Yaiba didn't get any Action Cards while brutally beating him down with his monsters, Kachidok won the duel.

 _ _That kind of dueling...This isn't dueling,__ Yuya thought, watching in horror as several paramedics made their way into the field and helped Yaiba's battered and bruised body onto a stretcher. "This isn't dueling," he repeated his thoughts out loud.

"That was terrible," Yuzu said, covering her mouth with her hands.

"That..." Kazuki shook his head, his lips pressed together in a thin line.

"Well, the winner of the final match of the first round of the Junior Youth Division is Kachidoki Isao," Nico declared, albeit a bit shaken. He swallowed and added in a clearer voice, "Now, the second round shall begin tomorrow. All participants who have qualified for the second round, please insert your registration cards to find out who your next opponent is."

Yuya did as he was told and, once the image showed up, he pressed his lips together tightly.

 _Kachidoki Isao._

"I'm going against Tanegashima Yuzo," Gongenzaka said.

"My duel's against Naname Mikiyo," Yuzu said.

"I'm going against Shalulu from the Knight of Duels," Kazuki said and turned to gaze at Yuya who hadn't taken his gaze off his duel disk. "Who are you going against, Bro?"

Yuya turned the duel disk around to show his brother and friends who his opponent was.

"Kachidoki Isao?!" Futoshi gasped.

"Yuya..." Yuzu whispered.

Kazuki clenched his hand into a fist but Yuya could see concern in his eyes.

"Yuto told me to make people smile with my duels," he said and lifted his head, a smile on his lips. "I don't know exactly what he wanted to tell me, but I'll do the dueling that I believe in because I believe that will answer Yuto's expectations of me."

Yuzu smiled. "Yeah," she agreed.

Kazuki relaxed his hand and nodded. "I believe so too."

Yuya turned his gaze to the arena, watching as Kachidoki came to a halt while leaving the arena. He turned around and locked eyes with Yuya, who gazed defiantly back at him. __Kachidoki Isao. I won't accept how you duel. Dueling is meant to make everyone happy__ _,_ he thought. _ _I'll bring back the smile to your heart with my dueling.__

 **. . .**

The following day found the You Show students sitting in the audience, watching as Gongenzaka's second round duel came to an end with him defeating Tanegashima Yuzo. It hadn't been a quick match but it had been interesting to watch. Kazuki took a deep breath as he realized that his duel was coming up next and he felt a bit nervous. At the very least, he was doing well to not allow his thoughts distract him, especially in light of who Yuya was dueling in the match after his.

He felt a hand on his arm and turned.

"You'll be fine," Yuya said with a smile. "Show Shalulu and everyone the same kind of duel you believe in that you showed in your last duel and don't forget to smile."

Kazuki gave Yuya a half-smile in response and nodded. "Right," he said. He had to focus and defeat Shalulu in order to make it to the next round of the tournament.

"And there you have it, everyone. Our first winner of the second round of the Junior Youth Division is Gongenzaka Noboro of the Gongenzaka Dojo," Nico declared and cheers erupted from the crowd.

Kazuki made his way down the stairs to the security doors as the next matchup was shown on the screen. Nico raised a hand and declared, "Now then, let's get this next match started! It will be You Show Duel School's Sakaki Kazuki versus the Knight of Duels' Shalulu!"

Cheers erupted from the crowd as Kazuki made his way onto the field and he waved at the audience, giving them a small half-smile and flushing when he heard one of the audience members shout, "You're so cute when you smile!"

He was pretty sure Yuya was laughing.

 **. . .**

"He looks so embarrassed," Yuzu said as she watched Kazuki's cheeks flare up in response to that girl's comment.

Yuya was trying, and failing, to hide his amused snickers at his brother's flustered expression.

"Definitely," he agreed around his chuckles. "I can't wait to tease him later."

Yuzu sighed in exasperation.

"What? I'm his brother. It's what I do," Yuya said with a grin.

Yuzu just shook her head but her lips were quirked in an amused smile.

 **. . .**

"So you are Sakaki Kazuki," Shalulu said as he came to a stop in front of Kazuki. He was a tall orange-haired boy dressed in armor with a cape around his shoulders. His duel disk was already activated, revealing an orange-edged blade, while his eyes studied Kazuki calmly. "I look forward to facing you in an honorable duel."

"The same to you," Kazuki said as he activated his duel disk.

"Let's decide the Action Field!" Nico declared and the card within the sphere spun above the two duelists head before stopping and Nico stated, "Action Field Forlorn Forest, activate!"

The arena changed and Kazuki watched as tall trees with twisted branches and giant upturned roots grew out of the ground, reaching high enough that the ground was shrouded in shadows and little sunlight penetrated the darkness.

"Let's begin!" Nico shouted.

"Duelists locked in battle," Kazuki began the chant.

"Kicking against the earth and flying in the air with their monsters!" Shalulu went on.

"They storm through the field!" the two duelists said together.

"Behold! This is the newest and greatest evolution of dueling! Action..." Nico finished.

"Duel!" Kazuki and Shalulu declared as one as they drew their opening hands.

 ** **Kazuki: 4000 | Shalulu: 4000****

"I'll start things off," Kazuki said and picked a card in his hand. "I activate the Permanent Magic Ice Star Blast. With this, every time an Ice Star monster is summoned, I can deal you 200 points of damage. Next, I Normal Summon Ice Star Sagittarius!"

In a burst of icy water, the dark-blue centaur galloped onto the field (3/1200/600).

"Since I summoned an Ice Star monster, Ice Star Blast's effect activates and I also activate Sagittarius's effect," Kazuki said and Sagittarius lifted his bow as the white-haired boy explained, "When Sagittarius is Normal Summoned, I can inflict 200 damage to you for each card in your hand, which, in your case, is five."

"1000 points of damage right off the bat," Nico said enthusiastically as Sagittarius aimed his bow at Shalulu and released five icy arrows that streaked across the field and crashed into Shalulu, pushing him back a few feet.

 ** **Kazuki: 4000 | Shalulu: 3000****

"And now Ice Star Blast's effect resolves," Kazuki added and a sphere of ice shot across the field and crashed into Shalulu.

 ** **Kazuki: 4000 | Shalulu: 2800****

"Not a bad move on Kazuki's part," Nico commented. "It's only the first turn and he's already managed to deal 1200 points of damage!"

"I set a card and end my turn," Kazuki said as he inserted a card into his duel disk.

"Not bad, not bad at all, Kazuki," Shalulu said. "My turn! I draw!" He drew a card and added it to his hand before picking another card and inserting it into his duel disk. "I'll start my turn by summoning Holy Knight Bors in Attack Mode."

Out of a burst of light, a black-haired armored warrior with a red lined cape around his shoulders stepped onto the field with a golden chalice held in his hands (4/1700/900).

"And I activate The Glorious Holy Knights! With this, I can equip one appropriate Equip Magic from my Deck to Bors. I'll equip him with Holy Sword Gallatin, which increases his Attack Points by 1000," Shalulu declared, retrieving the card from his deck and inserting it into his duel disk. A stone rose out of the ground, out of which gleamed the hilt of a sword that Bors grasped and pulled free from the stone (1700-2700).

"Since Bors is equipped with a Holy Sword Equip Magic Card, it becomes an Effect Monster. Now, due to its effect, Bors is treated as a DARK monster and its Level is increased by 1," Shalulu added as the knight was surrounded by a dark aura (Lv: 4-5). "I also activate Bors's other effect to reveal three Holy Sword Equip Magics in my deck and have you randomly add one to my hand. The rest are sent to the Cemetery."

Shalulu retrieved three cards from his deck and showed them to Kazuki before turning them over. "Now go ahead and choose one," he added.

"Alright. I'll go with the middle one," Kazuki decided.

Shalulu nodded and picked the card before sending the other two to his Cemetery. "And I'll now activate the card you just added to my hand: Holy Sword of Heaven's Decree. I equip it to Bors. Now, once per turn, Bors cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects," he said.

 _ _That'll make things a little tough__ _,_ Kazuki thought.

"I also activate Grandeur," Shalulu added. "This lets me target an Equip Magic in my Cemetery, like Holy Sword Arondight, as well as Bors and equip that Magic Card to him. However, it will be destroyed during the End Phase and I won't be able to Special Summon for the rest of this turn."

He retrieved the said card and inserted it as another glowing sword jutting out of a pile of dark stone appeared on the field and Bors grasped it with his other hand and removed it.

"I activate Arondight's effect. I can permanently decrease Bors's Attack by 500 to destroy one set card you control. I'll destroy your facedown," Shalulu added as the sword glowed, weakening Bors's Attack Points to 2200, before shooting out a blast of light that crashed into Kazuki's facedown, causing it to shatter.

"I also equip Holy Sword Caliburn onto Bors, increasing his Attack by 500," Shalulu added as another pile of stones emerged onto the field out of which jutted a sword that Bors grabbed, replacing Arondight, as his Attack jumped up (2200-2700).

"So you've restored the Attack that Bors lost when you activated Arondight's effect," Kazuki said.

Shalulu nodded. "And I also activate Caliburn's other effect. Once per turn, I gain 500 Life Poins," he said as he was surrounded by a white light.

 ** **Kazuki: 4000 | Shalulu: 3300****

"So not only did you increase your monster's Attack back to what it was beforehand but you also regained some of your Life Points. Not bad," Kazuki mused while bracing himself because he knew what was coming next.

"Battle! Holy Knight Bors, attack Ice Star Sagittarius!" Shalulu declared and the knight shot forward, swiping both of his swords down and slicing Sagittarius into pieces. The shockwave was strong enough to send Kazuki nearly flying into a tree but he twisted out of the way and, instead, ended up in the bush next to the tree.

 ** **Kazuki: 2500 | Shalulu: 3300****

"With that, I end my turn," Shalulu said as Kazuki climbed out of the bush. "And, due to Grandeur's effect, Arondight is destroyed and, since it was destroyed while face-up on the field, I can target a Holy Knight I control and equip that card onto him. I equip Arondight to Bors once again."

"Shalulu of the Knight of Duels has turned the tables a bit on Sakaki Kazuki and has taken the lead in this duel. What will happen next?" Nico said.

"My move," Kazuki declared and drew a card before immediately inserting it. "I summon Ice Star Aquarius!"

Out of a burst of icy water, the light-skinned handsome young man in the dark-blue tunic stepped onto the field carrying a star-speckled jar in his hands (3/1300/700).

"And since I summoned an Ice Star monster, Ice Star Blast activates, but I chain that effect with Ice Star Aquarius's effect. First, since Aquarius was Normal Summoned, I can Special Summon one Level 4 or lower Ice Star from my hand and I Special Summon Ice Star Pisces in Attack Position," Kazuki said and a pair of dark blue fish speckled with stardust swam onto the field (2/900/300). "Next, Ice Star Blast hits you with 200 points to damage."

A sphere of ice shot out of the card and crashed into Shalulu.

 ** **Kazuki: 2500 | Shalulu: 3100****

"And since another Ice Star monster was summoned, Ice Star Blast's effect activates again but I also chain it with Pisces's effect. First, Pisces lets me target one other monster on the field that has a Level and Special Summon one Ice Star Token with a Level equal to that target and I choose Aquarius."

In a burst of icy water, a star-shaped piece of ice emerged onto the field (3/0/0). After that, the effect of Ice Star Blast once again shot a sphere of ice Shalulu's way.

 ** **Kazuki: 2500 | Shalulu: 2900****

"And, since my Ice Star Token has been summoned, Ice Star Blast's effect activates again," Kazuki added as yet another sphere of ice crashed into the Holy Knight duelist.

 ** **Kazuki: 2500 | Shalulu: 2700****

Kazuki glanced at the cards on his field and smiled as he went over what Gongenzaka and the manuals had all taught him. He had the necessary cards he needed on the field so he knew that he could do it.

"Is that all you've got?" Shalulu asked. "I'll admit, summoning so many monsters at once is pretty good, especially when you aren't using Pendulum Summoning like your brother, but what can you do with them? None of them can take on Bors."

"I'm not done yet, though," Kazuki declared and raised a hand. "I now tune my Level 3 Ice Star Token with my Level 3 Tuner Ice Star Aquarius!"

"Tune?" Shalulu gasped as Ice Star Aquarius transformed into three rings while the Ice Star Token turned into three stars that the three rings encircled.

" _Infused with the frozen power of the stars, become the symbol that shines bright in the night sky! Synchro Summon! Appear, the southern cross that shines bright amongst the stars! Level 6! Interstellar Ice Star Crux!_ " Kazuki chanted as, in a burst of light, a silver-haired mage appeared on the field dressed in star-speckled dark-blue robes with a silver ankh being held in one of her hands and a crest in the shape of a silver ankh on her robes (6/2450/1850).

 **. . .**

"Big Bro Kazuki Synchro Summoned!" Ayu cheered.

"You certainly are a quick learner," Gongenzaka said with a grin.

Yuya couldn't stop the proud smile that dominated his face. To think his little brother had managed to learn all three summoning methods and managed to perform all three of them perfectly in only two duels. "I'm really proud of you, Kazuki," he said quietly.

"We all are," Yuzu said with a nod and shouted, "Way to go, Kazuki!"

Kazuki waved at them but Yuya could see that his brother was just as proud of his own accomplishment as he was. He caught Yuya's eye and Yuya grinned at him, pride shining in his eyes and he gave his brother a thumbs up. _ _Keep it up, Kazuki__ _,_ he thought.

 **. . .**

"Where did you learn how to Synchro Summon? I thought you used Fusion and Xyz," Shalulu wondered with a slight frown.

Kazuki smiled. "While Gongenzaka did offer me advice, I mainly taught myself," he admitted.

"Sakaki Kazuki just keeps surprising me," Nico exclaimed. "Not only did he reveal he taught himself how to Xyz Summon during his last duel but he just know reveals that he taught himself how to Synchro Summon as well? That is an amazing accomplishment!"

Cheers erupted from the crowd and Kazuki could hear that many people agreed with Nico's words and were congratulating him on that accomplishment.

He flushed a little but went on with his turn. "And since Crux was summoned, Ice Star Blast's effect activates but I chain it with Crux's effect. First, since it was Synchro Summoned, Crux allows me to target Ice Star monsters in my Cemetery up to the number of non-Tuner monsters used to Synchro Summon it and add them to my hand. Since only one non-Tuner was used, I can add one Ice Star monster from my Cemetery to my hand and I'll add Ice Star Sagittarius."

He retrieved the aforementioned card before pointing at Shalulu. "Now, Ice Star Blast's effect activates," he said and another sphere of ice shot across the field to hit Shalulu.

 ** **Kazuki: 2500 | Shalulu: 2500****

"And Kazuki has evened the playing field," Nico declared.

"But I'm not done yet," Kazuki said with a grin. "I activate Crux's other effect. Once per turn, I can Normal Summon one Ice Star monster in addition to my Normal Summon or Set for that turn, so I'll bring back Ice Star Sagittarius."

Ice Star Sagittarius galloped onto the field, giving Shalulu an irritated look, no doubt holding a grudge from being destroyed last turn (3/1200/600).

"And Ice Star Blast's effect activates again," Kazuki added.

Shalulu shielded himself from the ice sphere that was sent flying into him. "That card is annoying me," he said with a huff.

 ** **Kazuki: 2500 | Shalulu: 2300****

"But none of your monsters are capable of taking out Bors," the knight added with a slight smug tone in his voice and a smirk on his lips.

That smirk faded away, however, as Kazuki stated, "I now tune my Level 6 Interstellar Ice Star Crux with my Level 2 Tuner Ice Star Pisces."

Pisces leapt into the air and transformed into two rings that coiled around the six stars Interstellar Ice Star Crux had morphed into.

"Another Synchro Summon?!" Shalulu exclaimed in shock.

"A second Synchro Summon in the same turn? Now that is a surprise," Nico gasped dramatically. "This duel is certainly getting exciting!"

" _Infused with the frozen power of the stars, hunt down the darkness that threatens the star's light! Synchro Summon! Appear, great hunter of the night sky! Level 8! Interstellar Ice Star Orion!_ " Kazuki chanted as, in a burst of light, a giant warrior in stardust-covered dark-blue Greek robes stepped onto the field wielding a large silver club in his hands (8/2700/2100).

"And Ice Star Blast activates, but I chain it with Orion's effect," Kazuki added. "First, since Orion was Synchro Summoned, I can target monsters you control up to the number of non-Tuner monsters used to Synchro Summon him and destroy them. Since one was used, I can destroy Bors."

"Too bad," Shalulu said. "Due to the effect of Holy Sword of Heaven's Decree, my knight cannot be destroyed by a card effect once per turn."

Kazuki clicked his tongue but nodded. "But Ice Star Blast can still do some damage," he reminded.

"I really find that card annoying," Shalulu grunted as he shielded himself from the ice sphere that shot toward and crashed against him.

 ** **Kazuki: 2500 | Shalulu: 2100****

"But your monster has the same Attack as Bors. Is your long turn almost over since you can't do anything else?" Shalulu said.

"Who says I can't do anything else?" Kazuki shot back, holding up a card in his hand. "I activate Ice Star Sacrifice. With this, by sending Ice Star Sagittarius to the Cemetery, I can target another monster I control, like Orion, and have it gain Attack equal to the Attack of Sagittarius until the end of this turn."

Sagittarius was enveloped in bright light as it aimed an arrow at Orion and fired; the arrow glided around Orion and increased its power while Sagittarius vanished (Orion: 2700-3900).

Shalulu swore and took off running through the forest.

Kazuki darted after him. "Ice Star Sagittarius's effect activates! When he's sent to the Cemetery by a card effect, I can inflict 200 damage to you for each card you control, which happens to be five!" he announced as he watched Shalulu grab a branch and pull himself up into a tree toward where an Action Card was resting on a branch a few feet above his head.

He nearly lost his footing when five arrows shot toward him but he grabbed the branch above his head to hold himself steady as the five arrows crashed into him.

 ** **Kazuki: 2500 | Shalulu: 1100****

"Battle! Interstellar Ice Star Orion, attack Holy Knight Bors! Star Fire Club!" Kazuki ordered as he grabbed a branch and pulled himself into the tree before jumping to the nearest tree and then to another one, heading toward where he could see an Action Card waiting. He wasn't sure if it would help but, at the same time, he didn't even know if the one Shalulu was grabbing would help.

"Action Magic! Nature's Madness! I halve Orion's Attack Points until the End Phase!" Shalulu shouted after he snagged the Action Card and inserted it into his duel disk and a shower of thorns cascaded down on Orion (3900-1950).

Kazuki jumped upward and snagged the Action Card that was resting on the edge of the branch before diving downward. He grabbed another branch and swung himself onto it before inserting the card. "Action Magic! Nature's Blessing! Orion's Attack is increased by 1000 until the end of my turn," he said and a cyclone of leaves whirled around Orion (1950-2950) right before its club crashed into Bors, throwing him into the base of the tree that Shalulu was standing on, causing the tree to shake and nearly dislodging the Knight of Duels from his perch.

 ** **Kazuki: 2500 | Shalulu: 850****

"Orion's effect activates after Damage Calculation, which banishes your destroyed monster instead of sending it to the Cemetery," Kazuki added and Shalulu gritted his teeth. "I end my turn with that and Orion's Attack returns to normal." (Orion 2950-2700).

 **. . .**

"Am I seeing double?" Serena mused as she gazed up at the screen where a duel was currently taking place between an orange-haired boy in armor and a boy who had the same face as the boy standing next to her.

"You do realize he has different hair color and eye color, right?" Kohaku said.

"Which is good. I do not think my sanity could survive another Kohaku."

"Ha. Ha," Kohaku deadpanned and frowned. "He doesn't seem to be our target but it's still curious as to why he looks like me."

Serena hummed in agreement.

"We should keep moving, Serena-sama, Kohaku-sama," Barrett said.

"Do we even know where to start looking?" Kohaku asked, turning his gaze away from the duel to glance at his two companions. "There seems to be a tournament going on so if we, maybe, watch this tournament then we might find the Xyz remnants."

"It would take time since we don't know how long the tournament is," Serena pointed out.

"Yeah but finding who uses Xyz and who doesn't in this city will probably take even longer."

"Good point. I suppose it could also help us to judge just how strong our enemy is," Serena said thoughtfully.

"Yeah."

 **. . .**

"My turn," Shalulu said and jumped down from the branch and Kazuki followed suit before Shalulu drew a card and immediately played it. "Just because I have less Life Points doesn't mean I'm out of this yet. I summon Holy Knight Artorius!"

In a burst of light, a muscular warrior in silver armor with a fur-lined cape around his shoulders and light brown hair stepped onto the field (4/1800/1800).

"I'm looking forward to what you have up your sleeve," Kazuki said.

"Then why don't I show you? Since I control a LIGHT Normal Monster, I can Special Summon Holy Knight Gawain in Defense Mode," Shalulu said and, out of a burst of light, a warrior in bronze armor with long blonde hair tied back in a ponytail appeared on the field and knelt down (4/1900/500).

"Two Level 4 monsters," Kazuki mused.

Shalulu raised his hand and gestured to his two monsters. "I overlay my two Level 4 Holy Knights!" he declared and, as the two knights morphed into golden swirls that were swallowed by the spinning galaxy that appeared in the middle of the field, he chanted, " _Born from a legend as old as time, come to the battlefield wielding the holy light of victory! Xyz Summon! Come forth, the once and future king! Rank 4! Holy Knight King Artorius!_ "

Out of the blue lightning that emitted from the spinning galaxy, stepped a tall, broad-shouldered figure with dark-brown hair dressed in gold and silver armor with a bronze circlet encircling his forehead and a giant broadsword in his hand (R 4/2000/2000/ORU: 2).

"I activate King Artorius's effect. When he is Xyz Summoned, I can target up to three Holy Sword Equip Magic Cards with different names in my Cemetery and equip them onto this card. I target Holy Sword Gallatin, Holy Sword Caliburn, and Holy Sword of Heaven's Decree," Shalulu added and King Artrorius removed, one after the other, the three swords that lay in the three piles of stone that appeared on the field and, due to Gallatin's and Caliburn's effects, Artorius's power increased (2000-3500).

"And I use Caliburn's effect to increase my Life Points by 500," Shalulu added.

 ** **Kazuki: 2500 | Shalulu: 1350****

"Now, time for me to get rid of that annoying Magic Card of yours. I detach one Overlay Unit from King Artorius to destroy Magic or Trap Cards on the field up to the number of Holy Sword Equip Magic Cards I control, so I'll go ahead and destroy Ice Star Blast."

King Artorius lifted his broadsword as it absorbed a golden orb (ORU 2-1) before sending a blast of light into Ice Star Blast, which instantly shattered.

"Next, I banish Holy Sword EX-Caliburn in my Cemetery to activate its effect."

"When did that card get there...?" Kazuki briefly wondered aloud before realization hit him. "Ah, it must have been back when you used Bors's effect..."

Shalulu nodded. "Correct, and with it, I can target one Holy Knight Xyz Monster I control and Special Summon one Holy Knight Xyz Monster with a different name from my Extra Deck! I Overlay Holy Knight King Artorius!"

King Artorius morphed into a golden swirl of light and was engulfed by the spinning galaxy.

" _Great once and future king, emerge upon this battlefield and bring forth victory with your divine power! Xyz Summon! Come forth, the eternal king of legend! Rank 5! Divine Holy Knight King Artorius!_ " Shalulu chanted as, out of the burst of blue lighting, emerged an auburn-haired warrior clad in silver and gold armor wielding two swords, one in each hand, while blue veins of power coiled around his body (R 5/2200/2200/ORU 2).

"And since the monster they were equipped to is no longer on the field, Gallatin, Caliburn, and Holy Sword of Heaven's Decree are destroyed. However, when Divine Holy Knight King Artorius is Xyz Summoned, I can target up to three Holy Sword Equip Magic Cards with different names in my Cemetery and equip them to him. I choose Holy Sword Gallatin, Holy Sword Caliburn, and Holy Sword of Heaven's Decree," Shalulu added and King Artorius drew the three swords that appeared and, due to Gallatin's and Caliburn's effect, his power increased (2200-3700).

"Shalulu seems to be evening out the playing field. He's managed to bring out his ace monster by using his previous Xyz monster as material. Will Kazuki be able to get over this hurdle?" Nico asked.

 **Kazuki glanced at his hand and at his field.** ** _If I play my cards right, and get the card that I need, then I can._**

"Next, I activate The Glorious Holy Knights to target Divine Holy Knight King Artorius and equip him with an Equip Magic from my Deck and I choose Holy Sword EX-Caliburn," Shalulu continued and a pile of stone emerged onto the field out of which jutted a two prong blue and red sword that King Artorius grasped and removed from the stone.

"Due to EX-Caliburn's effect, the equipped monster cannot be targeted by your card effects. I now activate Divine Holy Knight King Artorius's effect. By detaching one Overlay Unit, I can target one other monster on the field and destroy it! I chose Orion," the Knight of Duels declared and Divine Holy Knight King Artorius held his sword in the air as it absorbed a shining Overlay Unit (ORU: 2-1) before he sent a strike of light that crashed into Orion and obliterated him while Kazuki shielded himself from the aftershock of his destroyed monster.

 **. . .**

"Oh no. Big Bro Kazuki's field is wide open now," Ayu gasped.

"If he takes this direct attack then this duel's over," Yuzu realized.

"Believe in Kazuki. He doesn't look worried," Yuya pointed out, pointing to where Kazuki had a half-smile of confidence on his lips.

"I believe he has something up his sleeve," Gongenzaka said upon seeing that smile.

 **. . .**

"So that Knight uses Xyz Summoning, huh?" Serena murmured while Kohaku studied the knight and pressed his lips together as he committed what that person looked like to his memory. "And it seems that his opponent is in a pinch."

"He doesn't __look__ like he's in a pinch," Kohaku pointed out, turning his gaze to his lookalike who had a confident half-smile on his lips. "Wonder what he has up his sleeve?"

 **. . .**

"This is it, Sakaki Kazuki! Divine Holy Knight King Artorius, attack Kazuki directly and end this! Strike of Avalon!" Shalulu ordered and King Artorius shot forward, raising EX-Caliburn to strike at Kazuki.

"I activate Ice Star Sacrifice's effect in my Cemetery!" Kazuki said. "By banishing it along with Ice Star Pisces, I can halve all damage I take this turn!"

A blueish ghostly image of Pisces appeared on the field and Artorius's blade cut through it before it crashed into Kazuki hard enough to send him flying into a tree, causing him to wince.

 ** **Kazuki: 650 | Shalulu: 1350****

"So you saved yourself," Shalulu noted. "I activate Caliburn's effect to increase my Life by 500 and then end my turn."

 ** **Kazuki: 650 | Shalulu: 1850****

"So what will you do?" the Knight asked with a smug smirk. "You have no cards in your hand or on your field."

"Even so, I still have Life Points left," Kazuki said and rested his hand on his deck before he took a deep breath. "I draw!" He drew and glanced at the card before smiling and inserting it into his duel disk. "I activate Ice Star Search. With this, I can add one Ice Star card from my Deck to my hand and I add Fallen Ice Star Fusion!"

"So you're Fusion Summoning now..." Shalulu said, not looking concerned at all.

"I am. I fuse Ice Star Aquarius and Interstellar Ice Star Crux in my Cemetery! Boy who bears the jar of water for the gods, become one with the bright symbol of the night sky and reveal to us a new power! Fusion Summon! Come forth, dragon that soars across the night sky! Level 8! Interstellar Ice Star Draco!" Kazuki chanted as, out of the vortex of dark blues, emerged the serpentine dark-blue dragon with long feathery silver wings and bright sapphire blue eyes who let out a roar as it spread its feathery wings (8/2800/2200).

"Even so, your monster is still weaker than mine," said Shalulu.

"I'm not done yet," Kazuki said. "I activate Draco's effect and Special Summon Ice Star Sagittarius in Defense Mode with its effects negated."

The dark-blue centaur galloped back onto the field for the third time (3/1200/600).

"And I also activate Ice Star Blast's effect in my Cemetery. By banishing it, I can have all Ice Star monsters I currently control gain Attack Points equal to the combined Levels of all monsters I currently control multiplied by 100 until the end of this turn. And, since my monsters' Levels equal 11, my monsters all gain 1100 Attack."

Draco roared while Sagittarius shifted as both of their powers increased (Draco: 2800-3900) (Sagittarius: 1200-2300).

"Even with that, I'll still only take 200 points of damage," Shalulu reasoned, bringing up the fact that Holy Sword of Heaven's Decree would prevent King Artorius's destruction in battle, should Draco attack it.

Kazuki raised an eyebrow. "You seem confident that you have this duel won," he hummed.

"I do. Once your turn ends, this duel's mine," Shalulu replied.

"I plan on ending it this turn, though," Kazuki proclaimed. "I activate Draco's effect, sending Ice Star Sagittarius from my field to the Cemetery to make all monsters you currently control lose 200 Attack and Defense for each of their Levels or Ranks until the End Phase. So your King Artorius loses 1000 Attack and Defense."

Sagittarius vanished as Draco unleashed a storm of icy wind across the field that soon enveloped King Artorius, weakening him as he was left nearly frozen (3700-2700/2200-1200).

"And I also activate Sagittarius's second effect. As it was sent to the Cemetery by a card effect, I can inflict 200 damage to you for each card you control, which is five," Kazuki announced and five arrows shot out of the ground again to crash into Shalulu.

 ** **Kazuki: 650 | Shalulu: 850****

Shalulu gritted his teeth and darted off, scanning the area in search of an Action Card.

"Battle! Interstellar Ice Star Draco, attack Divine Holy Knight King Artorius! Frozen Star Fire!" Kazuki declared as he darted forward, scanning the area as well, but he didn't see any Action Cards, except for one resting on one of the branches above Shalulu.

Shalulu snagged it and glanced at it before cursing. It was clear that the Action Card he had grabbed wouldn't help him and he could only watch as the blast of frozen fire crashed into King Artorius. The force of the attack sent Shalulu flying backwards into a bush while knocking out the last of his Life Points.

 ** **Kazuki: 650 W | Shalulu: 0****

"And there you have it! The winner of the second match of the second round of the Junior Youth Division is Sakaki Kazuki!" Nico declared and cheers erupted from the crowd as the Action Field dissolved.

Kazuki waved at the crowd, glad that they had enjoyed the duel before he walked over to join Shalulu who had pushed himself to his knees.

"Nice duel," he said and held out a hand.

Shalulu grunted. "You're not bad, Sakaki Kazuki," he admitted, taking Kazuki's hand and pulling himself to his feet. "You certainly took me by surprise by Synchro Summoning twice in one turn. It truly was an honorable duel, however, so I will accept this loss gracefully." He gave a slight bow to the audience while Kazuki waved at the crowd again and made his way off the field.

"Congrats, Big Bro Kazuki!" Ayu, Futoshi, and Tatsuya shouted as they cannoned into Kazuki, nearly knocking him off his feet.

"Your use of Synchro Summoning twice in one duel was awesome," Tatsuya said.

"It gave me the shivers," Futoshi exclaimed.

Kazuki chuckled.

"You certainly are a quick learner, Kazuki," Gongenzaka said as he joined them with Yuzu and Yuya at his side and patted Kazuki's shoulder. "Good job and congratulations on your win."

"Yeah, that was an amazing duel," Yuzu said.

"I'm very proud of you," Yuya said as he curled an arm around Kazuki's shoulders and smiled brightly at him, which Kazuki returned.

"And now it is time for our next match of the day," Nico declared. "It will be the eldest brother of our most recent winner, You Show Duel School's Sakaki Yuya, going against the runner-up of last year's Maiami Championship Tournament and the duelist representing Ryozanpaku School, Kachidoki Isao!"

Kazuki's smile faded as worry went through him as he recalled Kachidoki's duel against Yaiba and he glanced at his brother. "Yuya..." he began.

"I'll be fine," Yuya assured him with a smile. "I'll go forward with the dueling I believe in and bring a smile to Kachidoki's heart. Don't worry."

Kazuki hesitated but nodded. "Alright."

"But be careful. You saw what happened to Yaiba," he reminded.

"I know. I'll be careful," Yuya assured him before he walked past his brother and entered the arena while Kazuki moved over to join Yuzu, the three kids, Shuzo, and Yoko in the stands to watch his brother's duel while hoping that he would be alright.

 **. . .**

Shun stood just behind Akaba Reiji, Nakajima, and Akaba Layra, watching as Sakaki Yuya stepped onto the field to face Kachidoki Isao, the kid who'd brutally beaten Yaiba Todo in the last match of the first round. There was no denying that Kachidoki was a brutal duelist and, since Shun had seen worse during his time in Heartland and had done something similar to Shuinin Sora, he wasn't really fazed. He had to wonder how the Entertainment Duelist Sakaki Yuya would deal against someone like Kachidoki, though.

 _ _Let's see if that naive belief of yours can actually work with someone like Kachidoki__ _,_ Shun thought.

He did see Sakaki Yuya's Entertainment Dueling as a bit naive primarily because he knew of how Academia would view Sakaki Yuya's dueling. They were ruthless hunters who willingly carded those who stood in their way, even if they were innocent citizens who weren't even duelists, and Shun doubted that Yuya's ideal of bringing smiles with dueling would work with them.

And he doubted that it would work with Kachidoki Isao, either, based on what happened during Kachidoki's match against Yaiba.

He watched as the Action Field Bamboo Battleground materialized on the field. Tall stalks of bamboo trees rose up around the ground before Kachidoki and Yuya began their duel, drawing their first five cards.

"I'll start," Yuya said as he picked a card in his hand. "I summon Entermate Silver Claw!"

The silver wolf with the polka-dot bowtie around its neck appeared on the field. He climbed onto Silver Claw's back as he ended his turn.

"Draw," Kachidoki said and drew a card. "When you control a monster and I don't, I can summon this card without a release. Come on out, Hayate the Earth Soaring Star!"

A warrior wielding a sphere with a wolf's pelt draped over his head and purple-and-orange armor appeared on the field with 2100 Attack and 0 Defense.

"Battle! Hayate, Attack Silver Claw!" Kachidoki ordered.

Shun was impressed with how quickly Kachidoki moved. He managed to leave the rock he'd been standing on and make his way through the bamboo forest and, using Hayate's staff, broke a bamboo stalk in half. He grabbed the half and threw it at Yuya, forcing Yuya and Silver Claw to dodge out of the way to avoid getting hit by the projectile and allowing Kachidoki to get the Action Card the Entertainment Duelists has been going for.

The force of the attack sent Yuya flying to the ground as Silver Claw shattered and dropped Yuya down to 3700 Life Points.

Kachidoki then ended his turn.

Yuya began his turn by using Entermate Trump Witch and Timegazer Magician to Pendulum Summon Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon. "And then I Normal Summon Entermate Rakudown."

A yellow camel with a tall blue top hot on its head appeared on the field.

Yuya had Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon attack Hayate, only for Kachidoki to negate the attack using Hayate's effect.

Yuya pressed his lips together but smiled. "I'm not done yet. I activate Trump Witch's Pendulum Effect! I can perform a Fusion Summon using monsters on my field," he said and gestured to Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon and Rakudown. "I fuse Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon with Rakudown!"

Shun pressed his lips together. _Fusion Summoning…_ He really did hate it but, after exposing Sora as the Academia spy that he was, he'd calmed down a bit to the point where he didn't see everyone who used Fusion Summoning as the enemy.

" _Beast of the burning sand. Become one with the dragon of mystery and give birth to a new power! Fusion Summon! Come forth, ferocious dragon with luminous feral eyes! Level 8! Beast-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!_ " Yuya chanted as, with a roar, the armored and fur-covered dragon with dichromatic eyes appeared on the field with 3000 Attack and 2000 Defense.

"Battle! I attack Hayate the Earth Soaring Star with Beast-Eyes Pendulum Dragon," Yuya declared, pointing at Hayate.

"I activate the Action Magic Evasion. This negates the opponent's attack," Kachidoki said, inserting the card he had grabbed earlier.

"I end my turn," Yuya said.

"Draw," Kachidoki drew a card. "If I control an EARTH monster, I can Normal Summon Tenma the Sky Rising Star without a release."

A blonde warrior with a horse-like helmet over his head appeared on the field with 2100 Attack and 0 Defense.

"With Tenma and Hayate as materials, I activate Fusion," Kachidoki added.

"Star racing across the heavens. Pass over the earth! Become one and shine as an eternal ruling star! Fusion Summon! To me, Level 10! Idaten the Conqueror Victory Star!"

Out of the portal of orange and blue appeared a warrior clad in purple, red, and gold wielding a trident in its hand with 3000 Attack and 2200 Defense.

"Let me tell you Idaten's effect," Kachidoki added as Yuya took off in search of an Action Card, and likely to try to keep Kachidoki from grabbing the cards himself. "Whenever Idaten battles a monster with a lower Level, he reduces that monsters Attack to zero."

"What?!" Yuya gasped and winced when Kachidoki skillfully threw a bamboo stalk right in front of Yuya, causing him to trip and go sprawling.

Kachidoki then equipped Idaten with Magic Star Sword. Now every time he added a Magic Card to his hand, he could send one of those cards to the Cemetery and the monster equipped with Magic Star Sword would gain 100 Attack.

He got Action Card after Action Card next but Yuya suffered as a result. He got elbowed to the ground several times and even kicked in the face; he'd been hit a total of six times while Kachidoki managed to snag each Action Card that Yuya attempted to grab. It was brutal to say the least but Yuya, at the very least, didn't give up and bolted for an Action Card that lay on the ground nearby.

"Battle! Idaten, Attack Beast-Eyes Pendulum Dragon! And, due to Idaten's effect, Beast-Eyes's Attack becomes zero," Kachidoki said as he and Yuya ran neck and neck toward the Action Card.

"The wind of victory only blows for those who have seen true darkness," Kachidoki added.

"I won't give up!" Yuya shouted as he made a dive toward the Action Card in the ground.

An explosion erupted from the bamboo forest and, as the smoke cleared, Shun noticed that Yuya had managed to grab the Action Card. Kachidoki was standing over him with his foot pressed against Yuya's wrist while Yuya remained in the duel by a mere 100 Life Points.

"I end my turn," Kachidoki said as he let go of Yuya's wrist and walked away a few feet before turning to face Yuya, who pushed himself to his feet. "You know nothing of what it truly means to face true darkness. You have always walked through life in the light and have never felt the pitch-black darkness. Only those who have truly seen the darkness can achieve victory."

"That's wrong. __This__ is wrong. I don't approve of your dueling," Yuya said. "Dueling is for bringing smiles to everyone."

Kachidoki scoffed. "How naive." He closed his eyes and added, "By the end of this duel, I will show you true darkness. Be prepared to fall into that pitch-black darkness."

Yuya suddenly doubled over and Shun frowned, glancing at the sky as he noticed dark clouds were beginning to gather. __A storm? That's odd. Storms don't happen this suddenly__ _,_ he thought, watching as a strike of blue lightning illuminated the field and, when he glanced at Yuya, he was surprised to find Yuya without a smile on his face and Shun was positive he saw Yuya's eyes glowing.

 _ _What in the world…?__

"My move, draw," Yuya uttered in a monotonous voice. "I activate the Action Magic Mad Hurricane. This card returns all cards on my field to my deck."

In a burst of wind, Yuya's field was rendered completely empty.

"What is he planning?" Nakajima wondered.

Layra shivered while Reiji frowned but said nothing, simply interlocked his fingers together and rested his chin on them.

"With the Scale 3 Entermate Turn Toad and the Scale 5 Entermate Cheermole, I set the Pendulum Scale," Yuya added and the two aforementioned monsters rose up in columns on either side of him.

"Now he can only summon Level 4 monsters," Reiji said.

"What does he hope to gain by doing that?" Nakajima wondered.

" _Sway, Pendulum of the soul. Draw an arc of light across the ether. Pendulum Summon! Come forth, my monster servants!_ From my Extra Deck, Entermate Rakudown and Entermate Silver Claw," Yuya declared and the yellow camel and silver wolf from earlier returned to the field.

Shun frowned.

"With the Level 4 Entermate Rakudown and Entermate Silver Claw, I construct the Overlay Network!" Yuya declared and, as Rakudown and Silver Claw vanished into purple swirls that were swallowed by the spinning galaxy, the boy chanted, " _Fangs of pitch-black darkness, rise up against the foolish oppression! Descend now! Xyz Summon! Come forth! Rank 4! Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!_ "

"What?!" Shun shouted, darting forward and staring in shock as he watched his best friend's dragon emerge onto the field with a roar. "Why? Why does Sakaki Yuya have Yuto's dragon?!"

Reiji frowned but didn't answer.

Shun scowled and whirled around.

"Where are you going?" Nakajima asked.

"To confront Sakaki Yuya the instant this duel ends," Shun snapped.

"Wait," Reiji said.

Shun whirled around and glared at the gray-haired teenager. "That kid has Yuto's dragon and he was the last one who saw Yuto. He must know what happened to him. I want answers," he said with a snarl.

"Be patient, Kurosaki," Reiji said calmly. "Do not impede this tournament. Do not forget why I am holding this tournament."

Shun scoffed and stormed off. Calming down a bit and thinking, Shun decided that confronting Sakaki Yuya right now wasn't a good idea but he would find a way to confront him eventually. For now, he already knew that Sakaki Yuya had the duel won so there was no point in watching the end of it so he left and returned to the quarters Reiji had provided him.

 **. . .**

Kenshin nearly fell off the tree branch he had been sitting on to watch the duel. When his search for Yuto had come up empty handed, he had decided to go to the park to watch the rest of the tournament. He and Yuto had agreed that if they ever got separated and didn't meet back at the hideout then they would meet at their second rendezvous, which was the park. He'd hoped that Yuto would be there but his hope was in vain.

And when Sakaki Yuya's duel began, he had decided to watch. Something was telling him that he should watch, or maybe it was because Sakaki Yuya may have been the last person who saw Yuto and Kenshin wanted to see when the best moment to intercept Yuya and speak with him would be. He thought that it would be best to wait until after his duel and then attempt to intercept him.

And then Yuya brought out Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon.

 _ _Why does Sakaki Yuya have Yuto's dragon?__ Kenshin thought in shock and anger as he thought about what happened, about the signs of a battle having taken place in the park where he was supposed to rendezvous with Yuto, about Sakaki Yuya being there with no sign of Yuto anywhere.

 _ _Did you have something to do with Yuto's disappearance? Did you steal Dark Rebellion? Or what? Why do you have Dark Rebellion?__ Kenshin thought, trying hard to push aside his anger and not jump to any conclusions. He didn't know about what happened in the park, what had caused those signs of battle, or what actually happened to Yuto, but this was proof that Yuya definitely knew something.

He may have had a hand in what happened, he may not have but one thing was for certain.

Sakaki Yuya had Yuto's card and Kenshin wanted to know why.

" _I activate Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon's monster effect! By using one Overlay Unit, it can halve the Attack of an opponent's Level 5 or higher monster until the end of the turn and increase its own Attack by that amount! Treason Discharge!_ " Yuya declared as Dark Rebellion roared as it absorbed one of its Overlay Units and a blast of lightning emerged from Dark Rebellion's wings and struck Idaten, raising Dark Rebellion's Attack to 4300 while lowering Idaten's Attack to 1800.

He then repeated the process to lower Idaten's Attack to 900 and raise Dark Rebellion's Attack to 5200.

" _Battle!_ " Yuya declared. " _Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon, attack Idaten the Conqueror Victory Star!_ "

" _I activate Idaten's effect. If it battles a monster with a lower Level, that monster's Attack becomes zero,_ " Kachidoki interjected.

"Xyz Monsters don't have Levels," Kenshin murmured.

" _Xyz Monsters do not possess Levels. Therefore, the effect is negated,_ " Yuya said coolly.

" _What? If they don't possess Levels then isn't their Level 0?_ " Kachidoki said, surprised.

" _Revolt of Lightning Disobey!_ " Yuya declared and Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon shot forward with a roar and unleashed a powerful blast of lightning energy that shot straight through Idaten the Conqueror Victory Star and obliterated it while completely wiping out Kachidoki's Life Points.

Kachidoki was sent flying backwards and he crashed roughly into the ground as the duel came to an end.

Kenshin pressed his lips together and hopped off the tree branch, drawing the hood of his cloak over his head and turned his gaze from the television screen to the stadium where the duel had taken place.

 _ _Sakaki Yuya, I have to know__ , he thought. He knew that actually going there was going to pose a huge risk, and Shun was probably going to chew him out for this, but he had to know. He had to know what happened to Yuto and why Sakaki Yuya had Yuto's dragon.

He wasn't sure if he would be able to catch him but he had to try. He had to know and Sakaki Yuya was the only one who knew of what happened to Yuto; therefore, he was the only one that Kenshin could speak to.

 _ _Hopefully, he'll be willing to speak with me__ _,_ Kenshin thought as he walked.

 **. . .**

The hallways of Academia were silent. Everyone was either in class or partaking in duels across the campus so no one bothered Yuri as he strode down the hallway, his two-part red and purple cape swishing around him as he walked. His thoughts were primarily on his newest mission from the Professor but, as the Professor told him that he couldn't leave until they got the confirmation from their agent in the Standard Dimension, he decided to check up on Kohaku.

He hadn't had a chance to speak with Kohaku much in the last year, not since he'd been given those tasks by the Professor to capture Rin in the Synchro Dimension and Ruri in the Xyz Dimension. He knew that the boy who had managed to do what no one has ever done before, actually weasel his way into the heart that Yuri honestly forgot existed, could, more often than not, be found in the garden or the library.

Or completely lost on the other side of campus but Yuri was sure that Kohaku would have called him if that were the case.

The boy whose sense of direction was virtually non-existent had, at the very least, managed to memorize the way to the garden and library, though, so that was something.

The garden was the place where Yuri normally met up with both Kohaku and Serena. He didn't get the chance to meet up with them a lot recently but that was the place where he'd met Kohaku for the first time and that was the place that he liked the most in all of Academia anyway. It was peaceful and away from all of the students who were either scared of him or daring enough to constantly pester him with challenges.

It grew annoying, not because Yuri didn't like dueling them but because dueling them was boring. He preferred going against strong duelists, or duelists that were, at least, trying to get stronger, not duelists who used the same strategy over and over again. It was tedious and Yuri would rather spend his time coming up with possible strategies than participating in such tedious duels.

Or dueling Kohaku and Serena because they were always trying to get stronger.

"Yuri- _sama_!" a voice called and Yuri came a halt in his walking before turning as a tall, slender teacher with blonde hair sectioned in two layers with a layer held away from his face in a tightly-bound ponytail and crescent-shaped earrings jutting out of his ears joined him.

"What is it, Professor Cronos?" Yuri asked.

"The Professor wishes to speak with you," Cronos said.

Yuri raised an eyebrow but nodded and walked past the professor. He had just spoken to the Professor a few days go and had to wonder what this was about. He wasn't supposed to leave yet, since the Professor had reminded him that he was to wait until he got confirmation that the target had been located by the other agent they had in the Standard Dimension. And, since they hadn't received that confirmation yet, Yuri was stuck in Academia. He supposed it could simply be another mission for him to undertake to pass the time but that was doubtful.

He pushed the door open and found the Professor standing next to his throne with his hands clasped behind his back. He seemed unusually tense today and his gaze was fixed on the wall rather than on the machine that lay behind his throne.

"You wished to see me, Professor?" Yuri said as he moved forward and inclined his head politely when the Professor turned to gaze at him with calm dark blue eyes.

 _I_ _ _s it just me or are the Professor's eyes darker than usual?__ Yuri thought but decided that he really didn't care and pushed the thought aside.

"Yes, Yuri," the Professor replied as he walked back to his throne. "There has been a change in your orders. It has come to my attention that there are a few others whom I need in order to accomplish my goal. I want you to bring one of them here along with Hiiragi Yuzu."

"Of course, Professor. Who is the target?" Yuri said calmly.

"We have determined, through looking through our agent's memories, that this boy is a close friend of Hiiragi Yuzu, therefore if you find her then you will likely also find him," the Professor said as he tapped a button on his throne and an image appeared on the screen.

Yuri kept his face expressionless but, on the inside, he was surprised when he caught sight of the boy he was supposed to capture. The boy had snow-white hair with light-blue bangs framing his face and light blue eyes but his face was the real surprise.

His face was identical to Kohaku's.

If Yuri hadn't noticed the differences in hair and eye color, and knew that Kohaku was still in Academia, then he might have mistaken that boy for Kohaku.

"Sakaki Kazuki," the Professor said as he closed his eyes. "Capture him along with Hiiragi Yuzu and bring them both to me, alive."

"Understood, Professor," Yuri said calmly while briefly wondering why the Professor wanted that boy to be captured. What was so important about him now as opposed to before? But then, Yuri didn't even know why the girls who shared the same face were so important and he didn't bother asking. He knew that the Professor wouldn't answer him even if he did ask.

And, truth be told, while he was a bit curious, he didn't really care too much. He just obeyed and that was only because the Professor's orders were giving him another prey to hunt down and Yuri did enjoy hunting down prey. He only had to hope that it wouldn't be a boring hunt and that his prey would provide, at least, some excitement and fight back, like Ruri and Rin had done.

"I have yet to receive a confirmation that Hiiragi Yuzu has been located by our agent; however, as soon as I receive that confirmation, you will head out. Is that understood?"

"Understood, Professor," Yuri replied.

The Professor dismissed him and Yuri inclined his head before turning around and walking out of the throne room, already making a few adjustments to the plan that he had formed for hunting down Hiiragi Yuzu. Now he would have to take into consideration that he was hunting down two prey rather than one.

He headed toward the garden, deciding that he could plan while talking with Kohaku. As he walked, he found himself wondering how Kohaku would react to finding out that there was a boy from the Standard Dimension who had the same face as him.

 **. . .**

 **Next Time: The Warriors of Academia**

 **. . .**

 ** **Card Corner****

 **Kazuki's new cards**

 _Ice Star Pisces_

Level 2

WATER

Aqua/Tuner/Effect

ATK 900/DEF 300

If this card is Normal or Special Summoned: You can target 1 other face-up monster on the field that has a Level; Special Summon 1 "Ice Star Token" (Aqua-Type/WATER/ATK 0/DEF 0) with a Level equal to the original Level of that monster. If this card is sent to the Graveyard by a card effect: You can Special Summon 2 "Ice Star Tokens" (Aqua-Type/WATER/Level 2/ATK 0/DEF 0). You can only use 1 "Ice Star Pisces" effect per turn, and only once that turn.

 _Ice Star Aquarius_

Level 3

WATER

Spellcaster/Tuner/Effect

ATK 1300/DEF 700

If this card is Normal Summoned: You can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower "Ice Star" monster from your hand. If this card is sent to the Graveyard by a card effect: You can target 1 Level 4 or lower "Ice Star" monster in your Graveyard, except "Ice Star Aquarius"; Special Summon it in Defense Position. You can only use 1 "Ice Star Aquarius" effect per turn, and only once that turn.

 _Interstellar Ice Star Crux_

Level 6

WATER

Spellcaster/Synchro/Effect

ATK 2450/DEF 1850

1 "Ice Star" Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters

If this card is Synchro Summoned: You can target "Ice Star" monsters in your Graveyard, up to the number of non-Tuner monsters used for the Synchro Summon of this card; add them to your hand. During your Main Phase, you can Normal Summon 1 "Ice Star" monster in addition to your Normal Summon/Set. (You can only gain this effect once per turn.) If this card is sent to the Graveyard by a card effect: You can target 1 card on the field; banish it face-up. You can only use this effect of "Interstellar Ice Star Crux" once per turn.

 _Interstellar Ice Star Orion_

Level 8

WATER

Warrior/Synchro/Effect

ATK 2700/DEF 2100

1 "Ice Star" Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters

If this card is Synchro Summoned: You can target monsters your opponent controls, up to the number of non-Tuner monsters used for the Synchro Summon of this card; destroy them. After damage calculation, when an "Ice Star" monster destroys an opponent's monster by battle: Banish that monster. If this card is sent to the Graveyard by a card effect: You can target 1 card on the field; banish it face-up. You can only use this effect of "Interstellar Ice Star Orion" once per turn.

 _Ice Star Blast_

Continuous Spell

Each time an "Ice Star" monster(s) is Normal or Special Summoned, inflict 200 damage to your opponent. During your Main Phase: You can banish this card from your Graveyard; "Ice Star" monsters you currently control gain ATK equal to the combined Levels of all monsters you currently control x 100, until the end of this turn.

 _Ice Star Sacrifice_

Quick-Play Spell

Send 1 face-up "Ice Star" monster you control to the Graveyard, then target 1 face-up monster you control; it gains ATK equal to the ATK of the sent monster until the end of this turn. During either player's turn: You can banish this card and 1 "Ice Star" monster from your Graveyard; halve all damage you take this turn. You can only use each effect of "Ice Star Sacrifice" once per turn.

 _Ice Star Search_

Normal Spell

Add 1 "Ice Star" card from your Deck to your hand, except "Ice Star Search". You can only activate 1 "Ice Star Search" per turn.

 **Action Cards**

 _Nature's Blessing_

Normal Spell

Target 1 face-up monster on the field; it gains 1000 ATK until the end of this turn.

 _Nature's Madness_

Normal Spell

Target 1 face-up monster on the field; its ATK becomes halve its current ATK until the end of this turn.


End file.
